New Wonga adverts target 'hard-working people'

The payday lender is borrowing language from politicians

(Getty)

The payday lender Wonga has released a new salvo of television adverts targeted at “hard-working people”.

The re-brand features footage of people at work including cafeteria workers, farmers, and dental nurses.

The company’s UK chief executive Tara Kneafsey borrowed language from Westminster’s politicians to explain the new campaign.

“Our new product features and today’s marketing re-launch are further proof of the action we’ve taken, and continue to take, to ensure Wonga is lending responsibly and putting customer outcomes first,” she said.

“Our focus is on serving hard-working people throughout the UK who need access to transparent, flexible and short-term credit products.”

The invocation of “hard-working people” will sound familiar to observers of British politics, where the phrase is regularly trotted out by the likes of David Cameron and Ed Miliband.

Wonga has faced sustained bad publicity over its 1,509% APR loans and now has 600,000 customers, down from around a million at its height.

The company has retired its old adverts featuring puppets, which its new chairman Andy Haste suggested could “inadvertently attracts children”.