Icesave pulls plug on ads putting UK marketing chief on job alert

Icesave, the Icelandic online savings brand, has been forced to pull its advertising after going into receivership, a move that will likely lead to the departure of UK marketing director Alan Gilmour.

Icesave’s parent company Landsbanki is understood to be scrapping all of its UK operations, including the role of Gilmour and his marketing team. Gilmour, a former Lloyds TSB marketer, joined as marketing director in February 2007.

It is believed that media agency John Ayling & Associates has started pulling advertising already booked for the brand, and that its roster, including Cossette-owned Elvis Communications and EquiMedia, have been unofficially stood down.

Icesave has 300,000 UK savers with about £4bn in deposits. Landsbanki also owns Heritable Bank, which operates in the UK. Over the past three years Icesave has aggressively pursued UK savers with high interest rates.

The Icelandic government said this week that it would take control of Landsbanki. It also ordered Icelandic banks to start selling foreign-owned assets to help the country avoid bankruptcy.

Already the bank has posted a statement on its website confirming that it would not process any deposits or withdrawal requests. However, the Heritable website remained unchanged at the time of going to press.

Gilmour left Lloyds TSB in January 2006 after 20 years with the bank, including a spell as brand and sponsorship director.

Gilmour and Landsbanki were not available for comment as Marketing Week went to press.