Saw the Bankwest singing kittens ad recently and thought it was a nice approach. It is also interesting to note that they are using an informal voice throughout their other customer service channels too. So it is not just creative but IVR, online, etc. This integrated approach seems to be part of their overall positioning strategy to support their east coast expansion.
I don’t really care – I just liked the kittehs!
By Carruthers via Aide-mémoire
Aide Mémoire 
I find their whole approach very patronising, personally. The kittens thing is just weird and childish and it’s bamboozling that they then go on to say “Kittens make people happy by reducing stress, so we created Australia’s lowest ongoing rate Mastercard …” – huh? Try parsing that sentence. It is completely lacking in logic; the causal connection they imply is non-existent.And the ‘informal’ voice on their phone service just seems overacted and fake to me. Try giving it a command it doesn’t understand (it’s not hard, even when you follow instructions!) and listen to the ridiculous response. Surely there is some middle ground between automaton and high-school drama class? I found myself holding the phone away from my ear so I wouldn’t have to listen to it.Meanwhile, who on earth in their marketing department thought it was a good idea to have audio ads on their phone service that begin with a kid’s voice suddenly shrieking, “Muuum! Can I have a bike!” into your ear? Why would they think listening to something like that at random intervals is going to ‘increase customer happiness’? Their whole approach teeters somewhere between condescending and annoying, in my opinion; maybe it’s even the perfect combination of both. Well played, marketing folk!Wow, guess I needed a rant. That ought to hold me for the year, or at least until the next time I have to deal with BankWest…
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