Financial advisers unimpressed by Boomer Dad video

The centrepiece of the campaign was a video by comedian Tom Sainsbury, in which he played “Boomer Dad”, who was caught in a fake investment scam and lost money for a trip to France.

But critics said the campaign was victim-blaming. The video was pulled from FMA social media channels early last week.

Tim Fairbrother, of Rival Wealth, said it was in poor taste. “I understand what the FMA were trying to do by shining light on the situation in a different way to target different audience, but this is a serious issue that has cost some unsuspecting Kiwis significant
amounts of their savings,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be belittling the issue by getting a comedian to make fun of it. It needed a trusted figure to tell the story with the seriousness it deserves, which is where it missed the mark.”