I’ve mercilessly poked fun at bank advertising in the past, so it was with some glee that I came across this article in “The Economist” (“Bank Slogans – Ad Nauseum”).

The tagline “Because They’re Worthless” sets the tone.  Who can resist a wry chuckle reading this…

“From American International Group, a collapsed insurer (‘the strength to be there’), through to Lehman Brothers (‘where vision gets built’) and IndyMac a failed bank (‘you can count on us’), boastful institutions snapped, crackled and popped under pressure.”

Ah, almost inevitably Nemesis follows Hubris and there will be little sympathy for the former “Masters Of The Universe”.  Perhaps the inane nature of bank slogans and their advertising was something of a warning.  After all, it always seemed to be about the banks, with customers seeming to be something of an afterthought.

Having said that, there are still plenty of banks left standing so I’m sure there will be many future examples of poor advertising to dissect!