New ‘You Can Money’ tagline from Goldman Sachs consumer bank so incredibly bad, it’s actually pretty good

Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest and most powerful banks, is putting on a friendly face so you’ll use their new consumer bank Marcus. How do you get people to sign up for savings accounts at a bank that has never had them before?

If you’re Goldman, you do the unexpected and get goofy. The bank is pushing a new wave of ads in which regular folks can’t help but sing about how awesome their new Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings account is.

For those of us in finance, Goldman Sachs is the, ahem, gold standard of investment banking. They’re one of the firms that sticks to traditional Wall Street ways. For starters, it was huge news this year when the bank told staff it was okay to not wear suits and ties every single day to work.

So how does a stuffy old-school bank convince you it’s not a stuffy old-school bank? By positioning itself so absurdly you can’t help but talk about it.

The new Goldman ads seem lab/focus-group designed to go viral in the same way Super Bowl commercials are. They’re totally not what you’d think a Wall Street bank would ever stick their name on, and even though they’re super terrible, that’s why they’re genius.

You might hate your bank, but you never laugh at it, right? So if Goldman Sachs wants to stand out and start a relationship with you, playing for laughs plays.

If the first time you hear about a bank is seeing its name on a patently ridiculous commercial of a loser dad singing about his savings account (musicals: puke!), you’d hardly think they were the most corporate Wall Street brand on earth (they are).

This is how Quicken Loans got to be America’s #1 retail mortgage lender—their marketing connects to you and makes you forget they’re a huge financial institution.

Plus, how about that Marcus tagline? “You can money.”

That’s tailor-made for WTF mockery on Twitter … but that’s also how the best memes start. You can money that, my friends.

Yes I know that makes zero sense. But now it’s in your head. And you can money that too.

Advertising is all repetition and mood. And you can be damn sure Goldman will keep coming at us to make us think they’re all folksy.

Because remember: they’re one of the world’s most powerful banks founded 150 years ago, and pull all strings in economies and governments worldwide. These Marcus ads are just the beginning. Goldman Sachs won’t stop selling you consumer banking now that they’ve committed to it. You can money that.
___

Reference:

– New “You Can Money” Ad Campaign – Marcus By Goldman Sachs