Comments on: MONDAY RADIO COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: Bank of the West Explains Why They’re Not Your Kind of Bank

By: Bob Perry

Bob Perry — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:43:29 +0000

So, Mitch, you’ve been to my bank!

By: Mitch Krayton

Mitch Krayton — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:56:50 +0000

What? No trained and knowledgable staff?

By: Also anonymous

Also anonymous — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:15:29 +0000

I work with a lot of banks so I’d prefer to stay nameless. An RAB certified copywriter and I submit some amazingly good copy (if I do say so myself) to the banks only to get it rewritten entirely by a committee at the bank that insists on mentioning how long they’ve been in business, that quality service is their top priority, that their bankers live in our communities, etc. The also use lots of banking phrases that only sound impressive to bankers.

What I’ve come to realize is that, for whatever reason, the banks aren’t all that concerned about reaching their target audiences. They just want to use language that impresses their competition. However, they still provide a large part of my income each year, so I advise, they ignore, I produce what they want, they pay me, then I go on to work with other clients who WILL listen and allow me to do more targeted and compelling work for them.

By: Robin Solis (Bobbie West)

Robin Solis (Bobbie West) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:59:16 +0000

Hey I posted that one above but had to re-capcha so no name. Maybe I shoulda let it ride. Anyway I wanted to say my dream bank would have people who remembered my name (like in the old days) and not charge me an astronomical fee for every transaction. Sometimes double fees. One for going in and one for going out. I guess there really is nothing, truthfully good about banking now-a-days so you gotta write copy that’s generic?

By: Shrop

Shrop — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:55:15 +0000

I’d bet that the “JD Power ” bit is something the client demanded. I’d also bet the agency tried to talk them out of it .. with no luck . End result : commercial designed to fail .