The Scrutinator

Seen the Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu) ads? A pen full of stodgy bank executives, all white males (though later ads have one white woman and a black man among them). Amusing, but they ooze with leftist bigotry.

• The TV Spot is on the WaMu web-site.
• See their on-line ad at trappedbanker.com.

With the visuals, a caricature requires you to put words in others' mouths: E.g., "Exactly how does that help the rich get richer?" (from WaMu's own press release.)

The Sacrimento Bee: "Oh, I'm sure we'll hear from put-upon banking executives, claiming the ads reinforce stereotypes of bankers as mean, uncaring, rich snobs. Let's see 'em prove otherwise in court."

I'm sure they hold that same standard regarding African-Americans or Muslims. Riiiiight.

Also from the Sacrimento Bee:

The manipulative: Of course, Washington Mutual is a major banking institution with just as many corporate fat cats as any other financial firm (it was announced Wednesday that WaMu laid off 1,400 workers in Washington and Florida). ...

In other words, in reality they're indistinguishable from those they caricature. Good perspective.

Sure, others do stereotypes: Geek Squad stereotypes computer guys as major geeks. But they're not so loaded and the geeks are the heroes. That works, in my opinion. Others caricature their competition as negatively as they can: not the most enlightening advertising, but I suppose they have that right.

Here's my point: think about a caricature that does offend you. (How about the Amos and Andy Show?) Think hard about the essence of your problem with it. Reject double standards. Where does that leave you? For me, it means that you can't distort things as you see fit. Distortions hinder understanding.

What others say:

• GreenSickle calls them racist.
• Gary Sassman: "How 'bout a simple, effective commercial? No unfunny old-fart white banker skits, just plain, smart language ... somewhere, somehow, some idiot ad agency talked Washington Mutual into this, with the proposition that this would make their bank seem 'hip' and 'young.' It does neither. It's just plain annoying, and beyond that, it buries the most important info in a commercial that plays like a UPN sitcom."

Full disclosure: I'm a white male, but I look and sound more like a Geek Squad guy than a stodgy old banker. (But let me double-check that with my wife.)

By The Scrutinator @ 3:55 PM