[sloth]

The best adverts in the UK are for loans, because apparently the british can't get enough of spending money they don't have. They will almost always follow the same formula to a tee, which begins by choosing a cringeworthy metaphor for financial difficulties - a desert island, hurdles (the best - old people jump over minature hurdles shot from below to make them look life-sized), an array of locked doors. These would represent the many and varied obstacles that any sane person would realise indicates high time to stop borrowing: criminal convictions, bankrupcy and so on.

If any people are featured it will almost certainly be a rainbow of ethnicity and obesity, to indicate these companies have no qualms lending out extortionate rates provided there's enough house to seize if the payments stop.

They'll also make sure to remind you how their generous offer may leave money left over after paying off the debts, which could perhaps go towards "the holiday you always dreamt of", "that new car" or maybe just to "put away for a rainy day". Because, I don't know, putting up the roof over your head as surety isn't rainy enough, and it's not like saving money at a lower interest than the loan interest you're paying on it is stupid at all?