Numerate person and avid Facebook user Ho Ching has called out a social media advertisement by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Ho, who frequently shares hundreds of wide-ranging pieces of content on her personal Facebook page over the course of a single day, usually without any additional commentary, has taken the rare step of posting a caption to accompany her post.

What did she say?

Ho criticised the SDIC ad for providing the public with shoddy advice regarding retaining hard copy forms for future use and then giving false peace of mind.

She wrote:

This is rather cavalier advice -

to shred forms and rest easy, not!

If I remember correctly,

a) it doesn’t cover all bank deposits, only covers deposits in participating banks;

b) the protection is up to S$50,000 and not for amounts above S$50,000.

Even though the SDIC ad was lauded in the comments section of the original post for its creativity and smart referencing in form, its substance got panned.

What the ad was trying to say?

The ad essentially claimed it is safe to shred forms and "rest easy", implying that in the event of future claims, they will not be hampered without the necessary paper work.

She was responding to the copy of the ad that said: "Automatic coverage by SDIC. So you can rest easy."

The ad's Facebook caption, which is added commentary for the ad, said: "SDIC automatically protects your deposits and insurance policies. So shred the forms and rest easy!"

Is Ho Ching right?

As it turns out, Ho is right in her views that the ad is providing cavalier advice for the general public.

According to the frequently asked questions found on the SDIC website, questions 1 and 5 substantiate what Ho wrote.

1. What is the Deposit Insurance Scheme?

A: The Deposit Insurance Scheme protects depositors in the event a DI Scheme member fails by compensating insured deposits up to a maximum of S$50,000.

[...]

5. If any bank goes bankrupt, are my deposits covered?

A: Not all banks are covered under the Deposit Insurance Scheme. Only full banks and finance companies are members of the scheme.

If you want to know if your financial institution is a DI Scheme member, please refer to the complete list of DI Scheme members.

What is the ad referencing?

The SDIC ad was created in the wake of a major event in the art world involving the mysterious and anonymous street artist Banksy.

One of his paintings was sold for nearly S$1.88 million at a Sotheby’s auction in London on Oct. 5, and immediately after being sold, the painting self-destructed.

The 2006 spray-painted canvas painting is titled “Girl With a Balloon”.

By mimicking the art work, the SDIC ad was supposedly a clever marketing play that is trying to ride on the wave of publicity of the shredded Banksy art hullabaloo and start its own conversation.

[related_story]

What happens when messages get truncated beyond recognition?

Content that keeps Mothership.sg going

?

What was the last thing you used this place for? (Somebody said paktor, meet boys?) This is what you can do these days!

⛔?

Life's a beach sometimes but car show girls should not be in swimwear. Fight me.

?

Have a little money but can't help being kinda lazy? You can still invest using this.