I've seen ridiculous bank advertising over the years. I once sat through an agency presentation in Wellington, New Zealand during which both the client and the creative team puffed up proudly over scenes of people diving into piles of coins. So fresh! So un-pompous! So NOT what you'd expect from the typical BANK!
And that was true. Not what I would expect from the typical ADULT. I didn't smile. Probably the first time in my life I didn't smile with my client. I always smile when my client smiles. But the actors in the video clip diving into piles of coin were covered in gold paint. The music was from Cabaret. I seem to remember plumage of some sort. I couldn't have smiled if they had rubbed me with sheep's milk. They lost me completely. And I lost that client.
During the dot-com frenzy, First Union Bank aired television ads born from the union of bank pomposity with agency conceit. I remember blasts of stormy air, people running and screaming, bowler hats flying around – and then a towering presence, a massive building rising and dominating the chaos like the Eighth Wonder of the World. It was the First Union building. It was us, we, the greatest. I'm sure the agency left the first screening feeling like kings. We nailed it, baby! Did you see the CEO's face when the clouds parted and the sun-beams shot through?
First Union caved, of course. Couldn't hack the competition and sold out to Wachovia. WACHOVIA. Does that name ring a bell? Surely you've seen their recent, cocky commercials featuring customers being blessed by raining dollars while the other schmucks stare in envy. When I first saw these commercials – oh to turn back the clock! – I should have RUN to a stock broker – any guy who could pull the trigger on a trade – and hocked everything I own to short Wachovia's stock. Money would have poured down on me. I should have remembered: First Union! Probably the same marketing team! The sheer idiocy of these images and this haunting line: "Are you with Wachovia?"Then this week – Wachovia declared the largest loss in the history of advertising... uh, banking. Money wafted out the door by the billions, apparently. The bank will be taken over by Wells Fargo – they of the dusty stage-coach logo and the sober management, they that remember a bank is a place of predictability and industry and hard work and care and prudence.
I am not against whimsical advertising, even for a major financial institution. Why should beer makers have all the fun? I just get very cranky when bank marketers encourage their ad agency to get creative... have some fun... let out all the stops... show us what you can do... let your right brain run wild... while the bankers themselves are driving their organizations into the mud.brandsinger
5 comments:
Isn't it true, though, that advertising in the bland banking world constantly struggles to differentiate one stony edifice from another? Details about conscientious loan officers and frugal managers don't exactly draw in the throng. Could it be that the ads, like the banks themselves, simply were forced to go out on a limb, then farther still, then ridiculously far, to try to outshine the competition -- only to be sheared off in humiliation? There is a sort of shared madness that comes into play...
It is true, oh visitor without name, that commercial banks struggle to differentiate themselves -- and that THAT has been central to Wachovia's marketing challenge. But it is untrue that "details about conscientious loan officers and frugal managers don't draw the throng." I believe that a bank CAN present itself as different and better in ordinary business practices. My favorite bank tagline is "Webster -- We find a way." If that bank REALLY were a champion problem-solver for customers, THAT would be grounds for compelling brand marketing -- and business success.
Thanks for commenting to yr faithful servant, brandsinger
In a similar vein:
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/the-banks-have-some-explaining-to-do/
Thanks, mm. That's a GREAT blog you referred us to -- and the essay "banks have some 'splainin' to do" hits the spot.
The fact is, a century ago banks HAD to show strength and dependability. After government backing, consumer themes switched to CONVENIENCE and the institutional offering became complex investment instruments. The day is coming when banks will have to associate their brands with stability and wisdom... BUT no bank will succeed in claiming wisdom without displaying it.
-Claude
-- I should have remembered: First Union! Probably the same marketing team! The sheer idiocy of these images and this haunting line: "Are you with Wachovia?" --
I realize this comment might be some months late, but I only now found your blog.
Living in the Charlotte area, I have to say that the marketing team from First Union most likely IS the same team for Wachovia. The reason for this is that First Union never went under, and Wachovia never took over. First Union bought Wachovia and decided to use their name instead due to the bad press they were receiving. Of course it's all moot now that Wells Fargo bought the lot of them. So far the Wachovia name is still in use, so who knows when that will change.
Thomas
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