Whoo hoo for... WaMu?
In February, TBWA/Chiat/Day launched a new ad campaign for Washington Mutual. It’s called “Whoo hoo!”, and it includes billboards like this one:
I saw this while driving my cousins on I-294N near Chicago, an interstate lined with advertisements hawking BARGAINS, DEALS, NEW LOCATIONS, packing every inch of whitespace with DETAILS and COOL ARTWORK and CLEVER WORDPLAY and STOCK IMAGES. Yet among this literal gauntlet of expensive billboards, Whoo hoo! stood out most.
I get excited when I see ads I like, and this was one of them. I pointed toward the billboard. “Yep,” said my cousin Zach, “we saw this yesterday, and my whole family started talking about it. It’s cool, right?” For sure. I’m used to seeing slogans that are benefits (“Have it Your Way”) or say something about the company (“Leading Innovation”). But WaMu’s slogan conveyed a feeling. And how simple it was! With increased clutter and shorter attention spans, you’d think more companies would’ve opted for the one- or two- word ad by now.
But at the same time, I couldn’t help but think the ad missed the mark. Whoo hoo for a bank? Especially when wamu.com looks like this? Notice the stock footage, the cluttered look, and the details. It’s exactly the “we don’t care” look from which they tried to distance themselves. When I clicked on the Whoo hoo link, WaMu took me to this page, which I assumed would tell me why I’d be screaming Whoo hoo after signing up for their product. Instead, WaMu gave me five standard bulletpoints:
Free checks for life (selected styles)**
Free ATM cash withdrawals (foreign and domestic)**
A $0.03 reward on debit card purchases**
Free Personal Bill Pay®service
Safe storage for your stash - FDIC insured
Feels like a typical bank. And notice the asterisks that hide two paragraphs of fine print - fine print that indicates some of their checks aren’t free. And neither are some ATM withdrawals. Also, the reward sometimes doesn’t apply. Ohh noo.
(I’m starting to think Whoo hoo would work wonders for anything but a bank.)
I personally do not feel that way about banking at all. I always dreaded going to the bank. Most of the banks these days are trying to be more personal and more hip but consumers usually see banks as institutions. You wouldn’t want someone hippy and funny taking care of your hard earned money do you?