Hector the Tax Inspector

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Hector the Inspector, also known as Hector the Taxman[1] was the unnamed advertising figurehead of the former British government taxation department, Inland Revenue and was originally intended to remind people to return their self-assessment tax returns on time.[2]

The Inland Revenue attempted to avoid referencing the cartoon as 'Hector' [3] given the negative connotations around the word. They initially tried to identify him as Sam - the Self Assessment Man, but this never caught on and he was forever identified as Hector in the media.

History[]

Animated by Snowden Fine Animation (the same studio that did Bob and Margaret), Hector was first used in 1995 as the advertising personality of self-assessment tax returns.[4] and also as a way to put a human face on the Inland Revenue.[5] He was voiced in television adverts by Alec Guinness.[6] It was believed that the usage of Hector helped Inland Revenue to reach their targets due to a rise in awareness of self-assessment tax returns which was attributed to Hector.[5] Hector eventually became so popular that he became associated with the whole Inland Revenue rather than just the self-assessment tax returns campaign.[7]

In 2001, Inland Revenue stopped using Hector in its advertising. The then head of Inland Revenue stated that the reason for dropping Hector was that he was "too white, too male and too middle aged to represent the Revenue" (though his voice actor died the year before anyway).[8]. The Public Accounts Committee found HMRC spent roughly £25 million on him overall, and between 1998 and 2001 the number of people filing beyond deadline actually increased. The official line used to justify Hector’s departure was that he was “stuffy” and “stereotypical”, but in truth, he was failing in his intended purpose.[9]

Hector was replaced in the Inland Revenue's advertising by Mrs Doyle from Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.[8]

Public opinion[]

Merchandise to support Inland Revenue's advertising campaign featuring Hector was produced in large quantities.[5]

However, the character of Hector was not popular with Inland Revenue's staff, some of whom believed that Hector's image was not appropriate for the time.[1]

Impact[]

In 2011, supporters of Scottish association football club, Celtic started to use images and masks of Hector to insult supporters of their Old Firm rivals Rangers by referring to Rangers' tax problems with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Hector the Taxman RIP". BBC News. 2001-01-10. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  2. ^ Wright, Melanie (2001-01-10). "Hector the inspector hangs up his bowler". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  3. ^ "Taking Stock: Hector's ray of sunshine". 19 January 2001.
  4. ^ Claire Cozens (2001-07-16). "Inland Revenue ad". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lisa Campbell (1997-10-09). "ANALYSIS: Is Hector's house in order?". Marketing magazine. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  6. ^ "Inland Revenue to get make-over". BBC News. 2001-06-14. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  7. ^ Keith Perry (2001-01-10). "Taxman Hector gets early retirement". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Inland Revenue considers name change". BBC News. 2001-07-17. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  9. ^ "Fronting for the taxman". 14 February 2008.
  10. ^ "Cheeky Celtic fan pokes fun at Rangers tax case by holding image of Hector on the One Show".


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