Amidst a flood of bank closures and financial chaos, the Bank of America (BAC), the US's largest commercial bank, is attempting to reassure the American public of its soundness as a financial institution, using a series of television commercials to help spread the message.
CNN televised two Bank of America commercials last night, both within a 5-minute span of each other. Both television spots ended by stressing that the Bank of America was the "Bank of Opportunity". I've been tuned to CNN since rumours of a global financial crisis arose but this was the first time I had seen these commercials. What strikes me as interesting is that they aired merely 9 hours after the US Congress passed a $700 Billion Bail Out Plan.
I did some research in hopes of pinpointing the calender date in which these commercials began to air. My search was fruitless, but I know I couldn't have missed them previously.
So here are my thoughts:
The first "Bank of Opportunity" commercial that I saw, that evening, didn't impress me. Of course, the Bank of America is trying to re-instate itself as a trustworthy and sound financial instituition, incapable of crumbling overnight. However, I wasn't sold on the angle of the commercial. My initial thoughts were that it didn't suffice in providing the needed security that the American public was desperately hoping for at this point. It security seemed forced-what kind of oppurtunity could BAC actually provide for Joe Shmoe at this point?
Upon the second viewing, my initial reaction began to change. I thought about the message-using the word opportunity in their commercial is a sound strategy. Opportunity represents possibilities and "advantageous circumstances", according to dictionary.com. It was casting a subtle, yet optimistic, light on Bank of America. I felt that the Bank of America was attempting to console the American public. More so, without making any explicit promises about its capabilties as a financial instituition, that could potentially backfire on them, it was attempting to reassure the American people that they could trust BAC with their money.
I have to ask myself, why this commercial stood out at me?
I've realized I hadn't seen any commercials for American banks in the last while. And, BAC 's began to air theirs at the most appropriate timing-a time when American morale was at its lowest. Whether or not the commercials will prove to be effective remains to be seen. I'm still not quite sure why my attitude began to shift but for all that its worth it did seem to alleviate some of the tension building in me. However, by no means am I disillusioned to the fact that Bank of America is not the shining white night that American's have been waiting for.
p.s. I tried searching the commercials on YouTube to show you guys, but I couldn't find them! I'll let you know if I do, in the meanwhile I'm sure they'll be in continual replay on CNN!
CNN televised two Bank of America commercials last night, both within a 5-minute span of each other. Both television spots ended by stressing that the Bank of America was the "Bank of Opportunity". I've been tuned to CNN since rumours of a global financial crisis arose but this was the first time I had seen these commercials. What strikes me as interesting is that they aired merely 9 hours after the US Congress passed a $700 Billion Bail Out Plan.
I did some research in hopes of pinpointing the calender date in which these commercials began to air. My search was fruitless, but I know I couldn't have missed them previously.
So here are my thoughts:
The first "Bank of Opportunity" commercial that I saw, that evening, didn't impress me. Of course, the Bank of America is trying to re-instate itself as a trustworthy and sound financial instituition, incapable of crumbling overnight. However, I wasn't sold on the angle of the commercial. My initial thoughts were that it didn't suffice in providing the needed security that the American public was desperately hoping for at this point. It security seemed forced-what kind of oppurtunity could BAC actually provide for Joe Shmoe at this point?
Upon the second viewing, my initial reaction began to change. I thought about the message-using the word opportunity in their commercial is a sound strategy. Opportunity represents possibilities and "advantageous circumstances", according to dictionary.com. It was casting a subtle, yet optimistic, light on Bank of America. I felt that the Bank of America was attempting to console the American public. More so, without making any explicit promises about its capabilties as a financial instituition, that could potentially backfire on them, it was attempting to reassure the American people that they could trust BAC with their money.
I have to ask myself, why this commercial stood out at me?
I've realized I hadn't seen any commercials for American banks in the last while. And, BAC 's began to air theirs at the most appropriate timing-a time when American morale was at its lowest. Whether or not the commercials will prove to be effective remains to be seen. I'm still not quite sure why my attitude began to shift but for all that its worth it did seem to alleviate some of the tension building in me. However, by no means am I disillusioned to the fact that Bank of America is not the shining white night that American's have been waiting for.
p.s. I tried searching the commercials on YouTube to show you guys, but I couldn't find them! I'll let you know if I do, in the meanwhile I'm sure they'll be in continual replay on CNN!
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