Scottish Widows has been slammed for an ‘amateurish’ re-brand as the firm ditched the iconic hooded lady for a digital replacement.
The ‘living widow’ in a black hood and flowing cape has been a staple of TV adverts for the life insurance and pensions firm since the mid-1980s.
However the widow, who has always been portrayed by a living person, will be phased out over the next year and replaced by a digital version of the character.
The 209-year-old Edinburgh-based business is commencing a refresh of its brand to make it ‘stand out more in digital channels’.
But the digital motif of the widow – a red icon of a woman wearing a superhero-style cloak – has been harshly criticised online as a cross between ‘Red Riding Hood and Supergirl’.
The current widow model, Amber Martinez, will continue to be used in the branding until the end of 2025.
The new brand image was launched in August and will run in parallel with the original widow until she is gradually phased out.
One X user said: ‘I’m afraid I think that Scottish Widows have lost their minds with their re-brand. 40 years of patiently building a distinctive brand asset (young widow in black cloak) and… it’s gone, replaced by a flat, red, Supergirl logo. Bonkers.’
Another agreed, adding: ‘I’m not sure who Scottish Widows paid for that logo, but given it looks a cross between Red Riding Hood and Supergirl, I think they should ask for a refund.’
‘Image on the right has strong French Lieutenant’s Woman vibes. Vulnerability, survival, strength. Great brand associations. The one on the left? Girlboss. So, twofer, identarian, no credibility. Scottish Widows are nuts to think this will resonate with the core demographic.’
One X user called the new version an ‘abomination’, reposting a critical tweet and commenting: ‘Completely agree Scottish Widows – your stylised cartoon is an abomination.’
Another added: ‘Scottish Widows what gave you done? The old brand was iconic and immediately recognisable. The new one is uninspired and amateurish.’
One displeased user called it ‘flat and characterless’ and told them ‘don’t fix what was never broken’.
They said: ‘Scottish Widows your new logo is an abomination. The old look you had with the woman in the black and red cloak was iconic. This is as flat and characterless as your brand must be. Just means nothing. I wish you no good with it. Don’t fix what was never broken.’
Chira Barua, the chief executive officer of Scottish Widows, said previously: ‘One in four people in their 20s don’t have a pension and 38 per cent of adults are not on track for a minimum lifestyle in retirement, so we need to revolutionise the way people interact with longer-term savings to close that gap.
‘Since we started building the app and digital tools, we’ve had phenomenal uplift in engagement and see this as a gamechanger in helping people take the right steps now to get the retirement they want.
‘We’re also updating the Scottish Widows brand so it feels more intuitive in digital channels, like our app, but with a new look and ‘digital widow motif’ to bring it into a new era.’
The widow first appeared in 1986 when she was played by Deborah Moore, daughter of James Bond star Roger Moore, in a TV advert directed by David Bailey.
The advert was a huge success and recognition of the Scottish Widows brand rocketed from 34 per cent to 92 per cent.
Amanda Lamb took over in 1994 and featured in nine advertising campaigns before becoming a television presenter on A Place in the Sun and You Deserve this House.
The cloak was passed to Hayley Hunt in 2005 before English model Martinez took over the role in 2014.
Scottish Widows, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, is investing £100million to improve its digital offering, including launching its own TikTok channel, in a bid to attract more young people to its products.
It comes after Lloyds was derided as a woke laughing stock after it advised staff to avoid using the word ‘widow’ in its new ‘inclusive language’ guidance.
Britain’s biggest lender was accused of a ‘nanny state approach’ after issuing a long list of everyday terms for its 57,000 workers to avoid in case they cause offence.
Phrases and colloquialisms deemed unacceptable include ‘headless chicken’, ‘lost in translation’ and ‘sold down the river’.
Lloyds said use of the term ‘guinea pig’ might upset vegans because it’s associated with ‘experimentation on non-human animals’.
But it is the ‘banning’ of ‘widow’ which will attract most ire, as its Scottish Widows subsidiary is one of the world’s most recognised brands, managing assets totalling almost £200 billion.
Lloyds claims the word is ‘unnecessarily vivid’ and may ‘trigger unwarranted personal memories of trauma and upsetting situations’. It suggests using the term ‘separated’ instead.
It comes after the bank launched an ‘inclusive language’ guide explaining what terms should be used and, crucially, what is considered inappropriate.
The guide says there are many terms ‘that have strong negative associations.’
Using them, it adds, could negatively impact another person and create ‘barriers based on… social mobility, education, religion, accessibility, race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation’.
The bank was always looking at ways to engage, debate and be collaborative with staff, a spokeswoman said.
‘The voluntary inclusivity tool is designed to be a self-moderated way for colleagues to explore how people may feel about different words and phrases,’ she said.
‘As is par for the course when crowd-sourcing for ideas, some are better than others.’
has approached Scottish Widows for comment.