Halifax, the UK’s biggest savings and mortgages provider, is reviewing its £18m advertising account at a time when the bank, under parent company HBOS, is being urged to change its business model to weather the credit crunch crisis.
A spokesman for Halifax says the timing is “unrelated” but others suggest that the eight-year-old “Staff as stars” campaign featuring Howard Brown is out of kilter with how the business should be marketing itself in the current economic crisis. Moreover, they question whether Halifax can really deliver on its giving the customer “eXtra” premise of its advertising at a time when it is increasing mortgage rates despite falling interest rates.