Bank of England slammed for ‘vanity exercise’ after spending £10,000 on Snapchat adverts to tell young people about the new £10 note
THE BANK of England was today accused of wasting money on a "vanity exercise" after it spent more than £10,000 on promoting the new £10 note to Snapchat users.
The state-owned bank used £3,400 to buy a sponsored "geofilter" which allowed app users to customise their Snapchat messages with Bank of England advertising.
They spent another £7,250 on video ads on Snapchat, which specialises in posts which vanish within seconds and is wildly popular with young people.
The promotions were apparently meant to let the public know that there is a new version of the £10 note, featuring Jane Austen instead of Charles Darwin.
The geofilter - which was demonstrated by the Bank's Governor Mark Carney - allowed users to overlay their posts with BoE branding for one day last month.
It was only available in a few locations, including Central London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Winchester Cathedral where Austen is buried.
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Bank of England told The Sun that the geofilter had cost £3,383.
An official said the Snapchat ads "were part of a larger social media and public campaign to raise awareness of the new £10 banknote across as broad a section of society as possible".
Campaigners slammed the ads as a waste of money - pointing out that the public would come across the new notes anyway without any advertising push.
Popular Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Sun: "It looks like a vanity exercise for the Governor."
Chloe Westley of the TaxPayers' Alliance added: "This is a ridiculous waste of public money.
"When you have a monopoly on money supply, there is absolutely no need to advertise your services. It’s not like any Snapchat user wouldn’t use a £10 note anyway.
"Instead of trying to make monetary policy down with the kids, the Bank of England should focus on its day job."
A spokesman for the Bank of England refused to explain why the institution needs to promote the banknote on social media.
