With an unrivalled track record of making their own staff look like twats in their advertising, Halifax have sunk to new depths with their latest commercial.
Now, there's a whole Thesaurus worth of adjectives to describe just how bad this ad is. What I'd like to spend a bit of time banging on about is just how wrong this ad is.
It appears that Halifax are completely fucking oblivious to the fact that this country has experienced a deep, painful recession and that bankers are suffering from a reputation crisis where the lack of confidence and trust in them probably means that now even Gary Glitter is more highly regarded.
Those "slice of life" Nat West ads where real employees are talking to real people about money stuff may not be my cup of tea but at least they feel down to earth, human and not profligate.
A bunch of clowns from Halifax waving "free" fivers around is hardly likely to restore faith in that once well-regarded profession or compete at the same level. I know who I'd rather trust with my money.
It would be tragic enough if it was Halifax's own money that they were pissing against the wall with this ad. But the government's intervention and subsequent bailout of HBOS means that the good old British taxpayer has funded this garbage somewhere along the line.
More questions. Does it really make economic sense for Halifax to overtly chase the kind of bargain hunter who would be happy to switch current accounts for a fiver a month? Especially as people often seem more inclined to change their own sex than they are the current account they've had since college? Also, is this audience really going to be the most profitable group for Halifax to target, sorry, make money from? Will they really be able to cross sell other HBOS financial services to this group who are only likely to be concerned with getting a good deal?
Also, how did much the bloody thing cost? It seems to be on almost every other ad break and Spandau Ballet "Gold" can't come cheap. You would have hoped that someone, somewhere has worked out the maths and that a profitable return on investment for this activity is feasible. I'd love to know if this campaign actually works.
Somehow I doubt whether the business success of this campaign will be meriting high fives all round.
Nice little disclaimer at the end: Just pay in 1,000 quid. For a measly fiver? WTF?
ReplyDeletethat truly sucks the shit off a dead cow's arse.
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of thing that, quite rightly, makes the public think we're a bunch of absolute turds.
ReplyDeleteImagine watching this with a group of mates consisting of, say, a teacher, a quantity surveyor, a greengrocer and a nurse.
You'd really struggle to defend yourself, wouldn't you?
Wow...I am so glad that you have raised this as i had decided last night that this ad infuriated me so much that i was going to start a blog purely to rant about it. I have already had a moan on the adcontrarian blog.
ReplyDeleteI am a clientside marketer and have little experience in TV but this is the most soul destroying piece of 'advertising' i have ever seen. What Twat signed this off...surely they can't have sat around the table and thought ' we really need to get the general public back on side as we have fleeced them for billions of pounds so what better than rolling out some of our staff who still have jobs, then have them waving copious amounts of cash to the recently unemployed' what a bunch of helmets!!
Both client and agency should be fired.
I can't think of one Halifax ad I've ever thought was a good ad or even an ok ad, as a rule they're f***ing irritating, but this one is the worst by a long way. And as you say, regardless of how crap the ad is who is going to go to all the hassle of switching current accounts for a fiver a month? (which I think is taxed, so most people won't even get a fiver!
ReplyDelete£50 wouldn't be enough to get me to change to Halifax, I think they've wasted a big old pile of cash.
Nowhere near as shit as those fucking retards on the new-ish Natwest commercials.
ReplyDeleteWith that bank manager, who looks like a retarded seal, out to meet a couple of customers. The prize cock being the guy who was saving for an engagement ring but spunked it on a sports car when the smart lasse said no. And fair enough too, his hair looks like he's been hair gell from 'Something about mary' and when he smiles, his eyes look like two cunts.
he was never getting engaged in the first place - bet he just said that to get a loan for the car, because they wouldn't have given it to him otherwise.
ReplyDelete