FPA unveils TV ads

The star of the Financial Planning Association’s (FPA) three new 30-second television commercials is a middle-aged man with a mullet, in a bad jumper, who goes by the name Dazza.

Representatives of the 27 FPA member companies who helped fund the $3 million advertisements met Dazza last week through a screening of the ads at the official launch of the association’s ‘Value of Advice’ campaign in Sydney.

Due to premier on channels Nine and Seven on the night of Friday, October 7, the three ads aim to show the value of getting good advice by demonstrating the absurdity of getting poor advice from the likes of people like Dazza.

In the ads, Dazza — who could best be described as enthusiastic, yet ignorant — gives some rather dubious financial advice to a middle-aged woman sitting in a café, a couple drinking coffee and playing cards at the family dining table, and a man sitting out in his garden.

Then the camera cuts from Dazza to a sensible looking, older man who says:

“Don’t ask Dazza! Ask a professional real financial planner. Only they can help you with all your financial planning needs.”

The three television commercials, which were produced by creative agency Radar, will run in prime time slots on national and regional TV.

The Value of Advice Campaign also includes four print advertisements that will run in metropolitan and local newspapers, an advice pack containing a 20-page booklet for consumers, and a related website for the general public to access more information about the value of seeking professional advice.

The FPA intends to keep the campaign going for three years.