How To Remove Doubt From Your Wallet
(Short Answer: Don’t carry an AmEx card.)
I continue to marvel at the total disconnect between Big Clueless Companies’ marketing words and their actions. AmEx has got to be one of the most clueless…and that’s saying something.
Yesterday, there was a full-page ad in the NYT (which costs about a bazillion dollars) with “How The Charge Card Can Help Remove Doubt From Your Wallet.” in BIG BOLD letters.
Then, there’s that picture of a sad little wallet. (Which is actually appropriate, if unintentional, since Am Ex treats their customers like walking wallets.)
The three sub-headings in the ad:
“The card that’s ready for the unexpected.” Oh? What about when AmEx “unexpectedly” cancels a card while a customer is on vacation?
“Don’t Take Chances. Take Charge.” Indeed, but if you want credit from AmEx, you’ll have to sign all those pages of terms and conditions, which – in tiny, tiny type – make it very clear AmEx is in charge, not you. No choice.
“Certainty In A World That Isn’t.” This from a company who doubled the interest rate and halved the credit limit of a friend who had been a cardholder for 19 YEARS. Perhaps AmEx needs to consult a dictionary.
…and don’t even get me started on the new commercials pitching warm, fuzzy woo to small biz owners. They want to help all right (see above re walking wallets.)
The halls of AmEx’s ad agency must have been ringing with cynical laughter as they wrote all this hoo-ha. I have this mental image of the gang from Mad Men holed up in an office tokin’ away…”I Am SO High.”
From Forbes:
The number of credit cards issued this year has decreased 39%, causing further concern for card companies already dealing with financial setbacks. AmEx’s second-quarter revenue, reported in late July, dropped 18% to $6.09 billion and profits plunged 48%.“Coming out of these tough economic times, we need refocus on our customers and give them a sense of greater control,” says Deborah Curtis, vice president of global advertising at American Express.
Uh-huh…like I said, they’re smokin’ some (good) sh##, man.
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Tags: customer service, American Express advertising campaign, advertising, American Express, marketing, marketing troubleshooting
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