This Ireland... 2

According to Mary Fitzgerald in yesterday’s Irish Times the Bank of Ireland has changed its latest TV advertising campaign after a customer complained a “bogeyman” character featured in the advert shared his name.

The 30-second advert for mortgage advice initially showed a spiky-eared, furry-skinned “bogeyman” named Derek Whelan hiding under an unsuspecting child’s bed because he and his wife need a bigger place to live.

Funny.

The real-life Mr Whelan, a long-standing business customer with Bank of Ireland, contacted the bank to complain about being linked with the character.

Ooops.

“He contacted us and asked if we could change the ad,” a Bank of Ireland spokesman said.

Okay.

The advert was edited soon after the complaint was made. The character is now referred to as “Dave the Bogeyman”. The advert, the second of three aimed at Irish TV viewers, was first broadcast last week and ran for several days before it was changed.

Problem solved.

Created by advertising agency Irish International BBDO, it features animation by Glassworks, an award-winning company in London.

The Bank of Ireland spokesman said that while commonly used names were given to characters in the advert, there was no intention to identify anyone.

The bank has now decided to use only first names for the final advert in the series.

Probably for the best.

Still, once upon a time people were sort of able to make the distinction between reality and advertising, particularly if that advertising concerned a spiky-eared, furry-skinned creature lurking under a bed.

And what exactly does Derek Whelan, BoI customer, look like?

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