Advertisement – Creepy RaboDirect
I’m sorry for using this uber creepy picture, but it makes me giggle now. I guess this advertisement has grown on me in the last few days I’ve been watching it pop up on the telle.
At first it kinda scared me. My first thought was “why is he wearing that jacket?” My next thought was an angry “what the hell does a creepy guy have to do with banks?!” After that I hoped it was a prank or a mistake.
When I saw it come around again I paid more attention, and though it was still creepy, it was kinda funny and now after YouTubing it (to post about it on here) I see how it works and how it doesnt.
It turns out there are two versions of this advertisement, and I just happened to watch the shortened one which you can watch below. I think it’s ineffective because it really makes no sense until you’ve seen the longer version, which helps you fill in the gaps (and is creepier). View the video below:
BEFORE the voice over I thought it was going to be an advertisement saying I could do all of those things (technically it is), but the last shot of the guy wearing the silly jacket completely threw me. In honesty I had to watch it twice because I was so blown out of the water I couldnt comprehend there was voice over until I’d missed half of it. It still happens on this version if I don’t concentrate to listen, and if I don’t listen to the voice over I just cannot connect the dots enough in my head to make sense of the ad.
AFTER the voice over I thought the creepy guy was supposed to be genuinely smiling at having his dreams back. I was completely lost. Maybe it was because I missed most of the voice over every time I saw it on the TV….So I got onto YouTube to find the ad so I could complain about it on here. That’s when I stumbled upon the original version.
The original version makes the shorter version suddenly make sense, and makes it a little funny. It’s a lot creepier and I think it’s miles more effective than the shorter version because it actually makes sense. Watch below:
I completely understood that advertisement. It demonized the other banks quite successfully, and I remembered the company name. I love it. It’s funny, it’s bad, and it’s out there. I think it’s a shame we have to watch the other one, as the longer version is far more fun and gives me something to talk about!
The only thing I worry about is the reception from Australians. One of my teachers who is teaching us advertising techniques explains that Australians tend to favour the underdog, which is true. We seem to rally together to support the underdog because it’s the Australian way. It’s a cultural thing. Whether it’s true in this case or not, by being a bully they may have had the opposite effect to what they expected over here. We’ll have to wait and see, so good luck to you RaboDirect! I appreciate a humorous beating of the competition!
Checkout RaboDirect’s Australian YouTube Channel.
The last guy with the jacket looks like a serial killer. Hannibal Lector must have a brother down in Australia.
Ha ha I’m not sure where the guy is from but I have to agree. I love how they make him evil, it’s awesome :D.
Yes, he looks like: “I did it and I will do it again.”
Is it just me or is he wearing eyeliner?
Yes it does. Makes him more creepy.
I have watched the videos. I think this was done on purpose to help you remember the commercial. Though we are so stuck on this guy looking creepy that it kind of over shadows why this guy is in front of the camera to begin with. And who in their right mind would wear a silly jacket like that? I cam definitely see the creepy guy continuing to be in future commercials like Flow is for the Progressive commercials on tv.
This commercial did come off as creepy at first but I understand the message it’s trying to give to the viewer. I watched another commercial by this bank and it made the bank’s pitch even more clear, here is the video. https://youtu.be/yOaL2uS4ZE8 It is commercials like this one that makes advertising such an interesting topic of discussion. Most of the commercials are corny and sometimes vague but as long as they communicate what the company means to say to the audience then that commercial has done its job. Communication through any art medium can be obscure and any commercial or other advertisement can be interpreted differently to people of different cultures. I’m American and I did understand this commercial. I liked the commercial that I posted in the above link. At first I thought it was a real news broadcast until I watched the whole thing. I thought all of these commercials were very cheesy as far as production and storyline are concerned but I wouldn’t necessarily say American commercials are much less cheesy. Overall if the commercial is fun and grabs the audience’s attention then someone is going to pay attention to it and will think about its message… Read more »
Oh wow! I see snips of that ad on the TV right now, but I didn’t know there was a full version! I’ve actually been meaning to post a long version of an ad, which I think you will adore, which I saw in a movie theatre. The short version is good but the long version is really really funny and cute! It’s about a little girl who breaks her toy and her dad takes her to find a new one…you’ll see it soon I’m sure!
I’m not sure I like that long versions are made because the shorter ones really don’t give them any justice. I would happily sit through slightly longer ads if it meant I got to laugh! 😀
I would only be able to watch the commercial on YouTube, if you can find it and post a link. I agree that the best commercials find a way to make you laugh. Despite what I said earlier about the purpose of commercials being to drive the company’s selling point home to the viewer I really like commercials that make me laugh and have a good punchline. I honestly don’t feel like I necessarily go after a product or service based on commercials, I just use services based on my judgement or my experience with the product. In the case of the bank I might talk to a smaller bank to see if they can offer me higher interest rates and then go with which ever bank I think has the best interest rates.
I really try not to let commercials make my choices for me; I would rather make my own decisions based on my own judgement. As I said before I love commercials strictly for entertainment purposes. And I think that when we are able to see the subliminal messages and prompts hidden within the commercials we can see that those are usually more entertaining than persuasive.