Piggy Banks in TV Commercials
A commercial for the Bank of New Zealand has become an instant smash hit with consumers. The ad’s theme? Animated piggy banks. Thousands of CGI piggy banks journey across land and water to reach a paradise resort, where they begin enjoying a plethora of leisure activities including tennis, massage, tai chi, and more. Of course, the resort is a metaphorical Bank of New Zealand, implying to viewers that their money will be very well treated while kept at their establishment. Arguably one of the most entertaining aspects of the commercial is all the meticulous detail packed into each frame. While the animated piggy banks consistently have the same shape, the colors and sizes of the banks vary greatly (some piggy banks randomly show personalized names painted on them). Occasionally we see the piggy banks engaged in activities–like ski-boarding or holding a tennis racket–that requires them to stand; a lot of the humor in the ad’s 45 seconds comes from watching these piggy banks get into uncharacteristically human stances to enjoy themselves. According to Bank of New Zealand’s General Manager of Marketing, Shona Bishop, the response from both customers and staff has been exceedingly positive. “It was a bold new direction for us, but everyone seems to love our piggy banks”, she says. Click here to view this commercial. [news source: http://scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0605/S00472.htm, accessed 7-03-06]
Two other tv ads are notable because they’re also based on a piggy banks theme:
The first is from Geico, featuring a colossal pink piggy bank mindlessly tromping through a downtown metropolitan area like Godzilla would, with shots of horrified onlookers on the ground selling the comparison. Visit Zippyvideos.com and search for “Geico” to see this one.
Next, there’s a current tv ad from Toyota promoting their Yaris. An animated piggy bank in this commercial is subjected to lazer cutting, sawing and hammering by a mechanical arm that protrudes from the hood of a Toyota Yaris. Confused? Well, this commerial seems to generate mixed reactions, but you can make your own assessment by visiting youtube.com and searching for ‘piggy bank yaris’.
