Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Night 10/09/2011
Sometimes you see an ad that gets exactly the right message across, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't work. I saw one of these today right near the McPherson Square Metro Station (and right across the street from the OccupyDC "protests"). See, to stand out for the crowd, TD Bank has been pushing the convenience message. Hard. And I'm not just talking about those annoying Regis and Kelly TV ads. Two of their biggest selling points are that they are open seven days a week and that they have longer hours than most traditional banks. Pretty cool, but I'm still not sure that's enough for consumers to switch banks, although the recent fee increases by Bank of America and Citi may offer an opportunity. But that's besides the point. Back to McPherson Square and the convenience thing. As I was walking to the Metro, I saw this:  But instead of thinking that was a bank I would want to switch to, all I could think of was The Truman Show. And this. Sure, you could argue that that is the purpose of the sign. After all, TD Bank provides service all times of day and week, while Truman is watched all times of day. And the target of the larger campaign is those consumers aged 18 to their mid-20s, meaning most of this target presumably has watched or at the very least, heard about, this movie. So maybe that's what they were going for? But even then, it doesn't really work. Don't get me wrong -- I find the concept of The Truman Show fascinating. But at the same time, it's kinda creepy...after all, this guy's life is being recorded 24 hours a day/7 days a week for broadcast to the greater world. In an age of ever-increasing controversy over government intrusion into the lives of its citizens, is that really the message you want to be leaving potential customers with when they think about your product or service? Probably not. Comments Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply |  About Me
I grew up reading every single word of the Washington Post every single day, and I have haven't stopped reading the news ever since. Over the years, this led to my passion for news, politics, marketing and advertising (hey, at one point, the Post had a lot of ads, right?). ArchivesDecember 2011  |
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