ANZ set to kill Barbara the bank manager
ANZ appears to have given up on nightmare bank manager character Barbara from the ‘Barbara lives in Bankworld’ campaign, and is now running ads produced more than two years ago while it searches for a new advertising vehicle.
An ANZ spokesperson told Mumbrella: “The Barbara concept has been a very successful and iconic campaign for ANZ and the decision to put it on hold is simply about looking for a fresh approach in our advertising.”
This weekend, the bank ran an old ad featuring former Sale of the Century host Tony Barber, which was created by M&C Saatchi and adapted by DDB, the agencies which lost the ANZ business to Whybin\TBWA Melbourne after a global review in March.
Aw, I’ll miss Barbara..
I don’t think it was a smart move for ANZ to reinforce the negative stereotype many of us have of banks, but from the viewer perspective those ads were entertaining!
I’ll miss Barbara too – I thought the ads were quite clever and more interesting that some of the shockers floating round at the moment
A shame, those Barbara ads were actually quite fun.
How many homes are you buying superman?
Haha, awww I heart Barbara.
I remember the old Tony Barber where he goes to the wrong house “we’re renting”, but I don’t recall the one above. Maybe it’s a new execution of the old campaign? The fact that the copy relates to 11 years also leads me to think it might be.
I loved Babs too.
But the idea pretty obviously couldn’t run for ever.
Shame no one thought of succession plan.
The first step to curing your alcoholism is to recognize you’re an alcoholic. The Barbara ads were far superior to most bank advertising, particularly those Combank ads that make me want to stab them through their pretentious little eyes.
yes, I agree. also you might have some anger issues that you need to work out
I’m going to miss the Barbara ads. As somebody who once worked as a temp in various departments of ANZ throughout the early 00s; she accurately reflected the culture in a lot (not all) branches of the business.
Whenever I saw the ads and thought of Barbara my thoughts always come back to the way they treat their customers and treat their staff. Just like Barbara does.
Nah, never liked the campaign.
Barbara might have been an amusing comedy creation for adland, sure: but I reckon the camapign had a nasty lingering aftertaste. Hard to tell whether she just wasn’t funny enough (casting & production issues probably), or whether the whole notion of caricaturing the opposition (BankWorld) set up too big a challenge for any institution to defeat(as per CBA’s Determined to Be Noticed campaign).
I’m glad to see the end of this nasty mean-hearted put-down of a certain type of human being: No style, no class, no empathy, and – not surprisingly for ANZ – no positive residual brand values, which is the reward that comes from doing the best TV advertising. Oooops, ANZ: tripped up there.
BTW: can (m)Umbrella let us in on who are the creative team and the CD who’ll take the rap for this? The “agency” story is all very well, but it’s all about people. Whose brain did this creature come from? That’s the kind of fingering that would be useful… or is that being (ummm) too nasty of me?
no
ANZ is looking for fresh creative by dumping their current campaign in favour for an old one???
Barbara from Bankworld reminds me of the yellow pages “not happy jan” ads. Love the quirky but truthful ads!
This is actually a new commercial shot 2 weeks before it was launch…I know as I was in it. It is a new spin on the old one, why I have no idea.
all of your arguments are invalid. (mic drop)