ANZ Bank use Simon Baker to highlight number of ATMs across Asia Pacific
The ANZ Bank has rolled out a new ad created by Whybin\TBWA Melbourne fronted by The Mentalist actor Simon Baker, promoting the bank’s goMoney app and ATM’s across Asia Pacific.
Baker appears in ANZ ad as his The Mentalist character Patrick James, in this spot telling a woman in an airport lounge in China that she does not need a power adapter as China uses the same power points as Australia, with the spot using this to highlight the comfort of seeing your ATM overseas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=571TSZjgxmA
The spot follows on from one promoting the bank’s home loans.
Australian Baker has appeared as his character from the hit US show in more than 20 ads in the series which first launched in 2011. He replaced ANZ’s character ‘Barbara the banker’.
The Mentalist has been cancelled in the US, with the seventh season to be its last.
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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Why? Why does ANZ persist in using Simon Baker? Does anyone actually watch the mentalist? Did they ever? This ongoing campaign has been awful; cringe-worthy from the start. I don’t like anything about these ads, from the music, to the script, to the big ugly super at the end. New creative agency please ANZ!
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More to the point is who the hell this advertising is aimed at?
I’ve seen the campaign in Australia, but it also runs on regional news channels here in Asia (well, I see it in China anyway).
Is it supposed to be talking to expats like me? If so, why? I already have a bank in Australia, and a local one here. ANZ can’t really add anything useful to replace either one. (And patronising people who aren’t experienced travellers probably doesn’t improve things much).
Is it talking to local Chinese who may be interested in travelling to Australia? Why run it on a channel they don’t see, in language they don’t speak?
I’m just left puzzled by the whole thing.
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