challenge: brand a bank to stand out from the competition—and sell products

Most bank advertising is serious, dull, and characterized by “bank-speak,” asterisks, and fine print. The few banks that break out of that mold often focus so much on being creative that they fail to deliver an effective selling message.

solution: simplify, simplify, and poke fun at banking

To set it apart from its competition, CUBE advised its bank client to use a clean and simplified look and/or sound in its ads, speak in plain English, and make gentle fun of itself and the banking industry in its copy. To do this, CUBE used a large asterisk (characteristically found in a small size at the beginning of bank fine print) as the dominant graphic element of a campaign for its three new products, leading off with its new free checking account. The giant asterisk was followed by a headline that read: Seriously, it’s free. If banking laws required any fine print, it was incorporated into the main copy, which effectively eliminated the standard fine print format.

results: amazing and long-lasting success

The asterisk campaign was responsible for the bank’s exceeding its financial goals in the months following its launch, and since has been used to promote other bank products. Even better, the buzz on the asterisk campaign was incredible: the general public, customers, and bank employees continue to talk about the asterisk today. Best of all, the bank’s competition has been pea green with envy.