Sunday 3 November 2013

Wonga in the wronga

I have posted before about ageism, and how it's apparently hilarious to make jokes about zimmer frames/deafness/ blindness/confusion/ short-sightedness etc etc because the old dears can't fight back, can they? Well, this old dear has had enough, and the Wonga advertisements are just about the last straw. Some can be found here.

They aren't funny or clever, but deeply patronising, and just plain horrible. No-one would be allowed to parody the handicapped or an ethnic minority (for example) in this way, so why they elderly? Being old is bad enough without this kind of thing.

Come to think of it, I can't even remember what exactly Wonga is; I'm usually so occupied in ranting that I never get to see the denouement of these adverts. Do tell me what I've missed...?

19 comments:

  1. How I agree with you, Frances!

    Wonga is one of those fast loan companies that charge about 5000% interest!

    And you're not old!! :-) x

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  2. It's a payday loan company and encourages debt through vacuous advertising ... now I'm getting angry!

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    1. Me too, Wendy. I'm surprised that adverts haven't bneen discontinued, as they have caused a lot of indignation.

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  3. I suppose the idea is to fool people into thinking they're not really dealing with loan sharks who care about nothing except a profit.

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  4. Exactly! They're trying to make you think they are run your gran, and then sending the 'boys' around! Grrrr

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    1. I'll take on the boys happily. There's nothing like adrenaline/rage to strenthen the muscles.

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  5. Frances, nobody needs a loan from Wonga. They are sharks and borrowing money is fatal.
    Better to starve or ask for an advance. Not so easy if you are watching your children starve or suffer rickets.
    We should as a humane society provide jobs. Jobs that pay a living wage.
    I thought these advertisements were just brilliant. I'm a 3D novice and can't in my wildest dreams imagine myself getting this good.
    They are predators but are encouraged by the society we live in and the plonkers in Westminster. Where the minster bit comes from I've no idea. Nothing but avaricious agnostics visit that building.
    I didn't think these demeaned the aged. Get on with book four lass and I'll pay full price. If I cannot afford it I'll pop along to Wonga and pay treble.

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  6. In that I don't even find clips showing people falling over even remotely funny I'm often regarded as a boring old fart. I suspect I wouldn't find these adverts funny but as I haven't seen one I can't really pass judgement.

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    1. As one who (occasionally) finds people falling over funny (but only if they're not hurt) I can say that these adverts are not funny in the least.

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    2. Graham, I bet you were watching camera in hand to see if I negotiated the obstetrics you like to think of as a garden. Nearly broke my neck I did. The wine was top notch though so I wouldn't have felt any pain.

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    3. I have to say that CJ used to sit with his camera in hand hoping that I might fall in the pond so that he could get a photo before he helped me out. I did fall in one day but he wasn't there.

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  7. I think they've already attracted a lot of bad publicity about their ethics, never mind their ageism, Frances, so you're not alone in your condemnation!

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  8. I'm afraid I have no idea what's happening, so I can't help. Sorry!

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  9. Frances, "Nina John" is not really Nina John. That's a spam comment which I'd instantly remove, if I were you.

    As for those adverts, they are of course not on German telly so I haven't seen them, but as they have caused so much bad publicity, I guess the Wonga-people will soon notice that they did nothing to improve their sales and will hopefully stop them.

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    1. Thanks, Meike. I always was naive. As for the Wonga people, there have been complaints goigng on for months, and they don't seem to mind. I just needed to have my say!

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