Washington Mutual Commercials: Funny or Racist?

Mary Kelley, 206-377-6878 mary.kelley@wamu.net

Have you seen the new set of Washington Mutual (Wamu) Banking commercials launched on 3/13/2006?The commercials portray a young black man (the good banker) and about 20 mature white men (the old school bad bankers). The white men are kept herded in a corral. The black banker asks the white banker's questions about incentives for customers and the white bankers scoff at his suggestions. In one commercial an oversized guinea pig water feeder is lowered down to the white men. In another commercial caviar is fed to the white men with a giant spoon. The commercial is funny on different levels, but what is disturbing is the fact that the commercials single out white men as pets, animals, and slaves. Also, the commercial seems to say that all bankers of importance in the past are white men. Why did Wamu choose to divide strictly by race color?My message to Wamu: Not a good PR move to promote yourself with racism. Shamu on Wamu!Wamu Media Contact:Trackbacks:Tags: TV Advertising Marketing Slavery Bigotry Prejudice "Race Card" "Micro Persuasion" "Steve Rubel" "Seth Godin"