Watch: Nationwide advert starring Dominic West banned for misleading consumers

Adverts for Nationwide featuring actor Dominic West have been banned for misleading consumers into thinking that the bank – unlike its rivals – would not be closing its branches.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated the TV, radio and press ads, in which West plays the boss of a fictional rival of Nationwide, following 282 complaints.

One of those was from Santander, who understood that Nationwide had recently closed or reduced opening hours at a number of branches, and challenged whether the ads were misleading.

In the television ad, West, who recently played Prince Charles in The Crown, jokes about a large expenses bill for a company lunch before going on to talk about cutbacks and closing the branch.