Thursday, July 12, 2007

I, uh, don't get it, HSBC Bank. Seriously, I don't.


(click ad to read copy)
Paging through the latest New Yorker, I came upon the above ad and stopped, which, I guess, is a good thing—at least the ad made me stop paging. Let's look closely at the elements. HEADLINE: Are You Ready For An Upgrade? VISUAL: four boys doing flips off of a bridge. PRODUCT: A "premier" bank account. Now, advertisers do sometimes place "smarter" ads than normal in the hoity-toity New Yorker. But, um, could somebody out there PLEASE explain to me what this ad means? I'm feeling really really stupid right now.
previous confusing corporate ads:
1. The Shell game.
2. Third ad of campaign: Fo Shizzle My Nizzle.
3. Co-Chairmen of the Board.
4. Why King Kong would never make a good banker.
5. Meet John Dowd. Banker. Founding Father.

13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Obviously it's a bionic woman reference. idiot.

These bro's or geniuses, are throwing themselves off a shallow pier so they will inevitably break something (like their necks) and get them replaced with sexy robot parts.

3:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Either it's a combination of lifestyle/living the good life/let's do summery imagery or a failed atempt by a group of pubescent boys to suck their own dicks. Like you never tried, please.

4:17 PM  
Blogger New York Punk said...

Upgrade or we will fucking throw you from a bridge.

4:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And, with available all-wheel drive, winter driving is a breeze.

(Just wanted to make a comment as pointless as the ad is.)

4:24 PM  
Blogger : STEVE : said...

What you don't see are the parents on the pier who are throwing their kids off into the water. Damn kids.

4:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its Brilliant! You just don't get it!

5:10 PM  
Blogger monica said...

HSBC Premier: "Open to the idea of you throwing yourself off a bridge"

5:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Clearly, there is a typo in this ad. The name of the product is not "Premier." It should say, "Pier" banking, as in HSBC wants you to take a long walk off a short pier.

5:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Clearly, the general public lacks the sophistication of the advertising geniuses who created this ad. Those boys are not jumping from the pier. They are falling from the sky. It is symbolic, just as money growing on trees. It is something that will never actually happen, just like the idea of putting $100,000 into a bank account with these people.

6:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those are the HSBC people doing backflips over this year's bonus.

9:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe these amigos get upgraded from an economy brown to a premium white.

1:07 PM  
Blogger happeningfish said...

This ad is a lot more fun if you take into account the more recent Tampax campaign!

6:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The idea might be that they're jumping off a bridge because they're so dissatisfied with their current bank (and SO ready for an upgrade). By switching to HSBC, they won't have to commit suicide anymore.

Talk about an upgrade...

10:20 AM  

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