Dear NAB, if I were a customer…

…I would definitely break up with you.

The National Bank of Australia’s (NAB) current advertising campaign has to be one of the worst i’ve ever seen. Perhaps I’m the only one who doesn’t get it. But essentially, NAB is saying “we’ve broken up with the other banks”. This must refer to the closeness with which the “big four” (NAB, CBA, ANZ and Westpac) have historically operated in Australia.

So, in NAB telling us that they’re ‘breaking up’ with the others. I take two key messages from this campaign.

1. NAB is admitting that they have been colluding with the other banks. Thanks for telling us.
2. NAB shows no loyalty. Like the prisoner who chooses to talk and face less time. They’re confessing to their ‘crimes’ and by association, the ‘crimes’ of the other banks. This is an effort to save their own skin and get more customers.

NAB, I’m a very long way from being a customer. Perhaps I’m being overly cynical – and I did read that this is based on a similar campaign run somewhere in North America. Whatever the intention, I think a more simple campaign message such as “not all banks are created equal” would have had the same message without the negative connotations.