For almost 40 years, she has been one of the most instantly recognisable company logos in the world.
But now Scottish Widows is to drop its iconic cloaked woman from future advertising campaigns and branding.
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 decision has been taken as the 209-year-old Edinburgh-based business carries out a refresh of its brand to make it ‘stand out more in digital channels’.
L-R Deborah Moore, Hayley Hunt and Amanda Lamb, all of whom have played the iconic hooded lady in Scottish Widows adverts
Scottish Widows is replacing the black-clad mascot with this new digital version
The current widow model, Amber Martinez, will continue to be used in the branding until the end of 2025.
The digital motif of the widow – a red icon of a woman wearing a superhero-style cloak – was launched in August and will run in parallel with the original widow until she is gradually phased out.
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.
Deborah Moore, the daughter of James Bond actor Roger Moore, was the first to portray the hooded lady in the 1980s
Research carried out by the firm shows one in four people in their 20s aren’t saving anything for retirement and 38 per cent of adults are not on track for a minimum lifestyle in retirement.
On top of the TikTok channel, the company is also updating its app, including introducing gamification features which it hopes will help to easily explain difficult concepts to users.
Chira Barua, chief executive officer of Scottish Widows, said: ‘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.
Amber Martinez was the last actress to play the company’s mascot
A notice to customers on Scottish Widows’s website says they will see the old and new branding in communications for the time being.
It states: ‘We are improving the digital experiences for our customers as part of a transformation to modernise Scottish Widows whilst also refreshing the way we look.
‘For a period of time, and throughout 2024-2025, you will see old Scottish Widows and new Scottish Widows side by side until we have fully rolled out our new brand across all customer touchpoints.
‘This will take a while so please bear with us during this time of transformation, but we want to reassure you that it is still us.’
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