Westminster Council slams RSA ‘Lucky’ ads

Royal & SunAlliance (RSA) has come under fire from Westminster City Council after the insurance giant stuck fly-posters for an ad campaign throughout central London.

The ad, which carries the strapline “Where’s Lucky?”, features a dog of the same name which is missing. The illegal posters are part of a new branding campaign for RSA, which is also using TV, press and posters.

Westminster Council served notice on the company on Monday, demanding RSA removes the posters within 48 hours. The council says if the posters are not taken down, the company could face prosecution.

The authority successfully prosecuted sportswear company Nike for a similar offence recently.

Chairman of Westminster’s planning and licensing committee Councillor Angela Hooper says: “The council will clamp down heavily on the illegal display of advertising. It won’t hesitate to prosecute if these posters aren’t removed.”

The campaign has been created by Ogilvy & Mather and aims to promote RSA as more than just a normal insurance company. The fly-posters were put up by Cake, a youth marketing agency.

A spokesman for RSA confirms the company put up the posters without permission but says: “It was always part of our arrangement with our agencies to take down the posters after two weeks.”