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Six adverts for an Islamic investment platform showing banknotes on fire have been banned after a regulator ruled they were likely to cause serious offence. The posters for Wahed Invest, seen between September and November on Transport for London (TfL) services last year, featured US dollar and euro banknotes on fire.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 75 complaints that the ads were offensive. Wahed Invest said its intention was to “spark thought and awareness” and acknowledged the ASA’s feedback on the use of international currency.
The adverts featured images of Muslim preacher Ismail ibn Musa Menk and Russian former professional mixed martial artist Khabib Abdulmanapovich pointing at large text stating “Join the Money Revolution” above Wahed’s logo. Three of the posters showed Mr Menk holding an open briefcase filled with US dollar and euro banknotes on fire, with two of them stating “Withdraw from Exploitation” and “Withdraw from Riba”.
Wahed said the burning of banknotes within the adverts was designed to show money “going up in flames” when inflation grew faster than the rate of savings.
The ASA said the adverts would have been seen by many people, including people from the United States and eurozone countries, who “would have viewed their nation’s currency as being culturally significant”. “Although we acknowledged Wahed Invest’s view that they had not directly criticised a specific group, and that depictions of burning banknotes were commonly encountered, we considered the burning of banknotes would have caused serious offence to some viewers,” the regulator said.
“We therefore concluded that the ads were likely to cause serious offence.”
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