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« Kris's Korner
First blog - does this ad bother you too?
Greetings all! I've lurked here for quite a while, posted somewhat infrequently. But something my hubby and I were talking about over the weekend has stuck in my head, so I wanted to see if we were the only ones.
The one that bugs both of us to no end is the Bank of America "Keep the Change" ads. Now, I like the idea of automatically transferring bits of money into savings, for those who can't seem to find a way to save money. Our problem is this. The ads take the angle that there's all this change laying around, getting lost, and it's just waiting for some purpose. So why not, whenever you use their card, just transfer those 'lost' coins to your savings account. However, those coins aren't lost, they're still happily sitting in your checking account.
They're not:
-in your car or couch just waiting to be vacuumed up
-dropped on an escalator just waiting to be kicked or sucked into the escalator
-lost in a pocket of an old coat in your closet
They're in your checking account! You don't get change when you use the debit card (unless you ask for them to charge a higher amount, and even then it's usually round dollars you're getting back, not coins).
Does the advertising exec who came up with this think that folks will say "hey, yeah, let me save all that change so it won't get lost in one of these terrible places and I can't spend it?"
Does this bug anyone else? Is it just me and my hubby?
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Feb 8, 2008 2:27 PM
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Oh Kris, your first blog, this is so exciting.
I don't believe I've seen the ad you're referring to as of yet. I'll keep my eyes open for it though.
It sounds somewhat misleading though doesn't it? I find overall corporate businesses particularly financial ones are coming up with subliminal type messages that they believe will appeal to the general public, almost like trying to pull the wool over our eyes.
I know with my own account, I don't get the option to get change and until you brought it up, I had never thought of it before, but it's true though, they always round it up to the next dollar.
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Feb 8, 2008 3:20 PM
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Kris - It didn't bug me because I didn't think of it. I probably wasn't paying attention, but you are right. That is a silly mistake on their part.
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Feb 8, 2008 3:50 PM
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I haven't seen it yet either Kris but I wanted to say Hi!!!
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Feb 8, 2008 3:58 PM
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Welcome to the blogs Kris. Like Cindy, I didn't notice this either. Course, there's plenty of advertising that takes our intelligence for granted. Look forward to seeing more posts from you. Thanks again for joining us.
David Flores
Community Manager
TV Guide.com
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Feb 8, 2008 4:07 PM
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Hi Kris, and welcome to blog-posting!
I'm totally with you. Every time I see that commercial I have to laugh. It's like some advertising person said, "Gee, now that I'm using my check card, I no longer have that magic coin cup in my dresser that gets me a night out when I'm running low on cash. I bet lots of people miss that."
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks its a silly idea.
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Feb 8, 2008 4:14 PM
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SJ, David, Cindy, and Molly - Thanks for the warm welcome!
I have to admit, I personally hear these ads more on the radio than on tv (being a dvr-aholic!), and I listen to the radio on the drive in to work, plus all day at my desk. So, I guarantee, I hear it many, many times a day. I knew it was a tactic, but until hubby and I talked about it, it didn't really bug me. Now it does.
panns - love the visual with the change jar! Does anyone still have those? So many people nowadays use plastic of some sort.
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Feb 8, 2008 6:25 PM
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Does anyone still have those? So many people nowadays use plastic of some sort.
You're right there. Mine is plastic. 
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Feb 8, 2008 6:37 PM
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Kris. You seem like a sweet girl. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! The blog world can swallow you up. If you choose to stay, be careful. **Shudder**
Oh yeah, and welcome.
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Feb 8, 2008 7:38 PM
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Naughty John!! Bad John!! Don't scare the girl away on her first blog! Maybe we need to tell her to just run away from you, all the rest of us are angels...I swear....
*quickly adjusts halo*
*smiles sweetly*
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Feb 8, 2008 7:49 PM
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Kris: That ad bugs me too. I'm of the opinion that it's B of A's way to encourage overdrafts in their customer's checking accounts by complicating the record keeping involved. Overdrafts are an excellent source of fee income for a bank and don't even try to argue that you had an offsetting balance in the savings account because that's not going to work. I've been in the banking industry for 10 years now and I know most of tricks. This one is particularly irritating.
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Feb 8, 2008 7:49 PM
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Oh, shoot, the reason I started to post before I got distracted by our resident bad boy was to say this- believe it or not, I still use the piggy bank I got when I was 5. Everytime my wallet starts getting full, I pull out all the pennies and throw them in my piggy bank. I know when piggy's full that I have about $40 worth of pennies. I know it's silly, but I've done it for years.
So I use my plastic a lot, but I won't give up my piggy bank for anybody!
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Feb 8, 2008 7:54 PM
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I know the ad and I figured that they didn't intend the ad for me. They just wanted something that was catchy...I think...I hope.
Welcome to the world of blogging we are a fun bunch....
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Feb 8, 2008 8:51 PM
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Naughty John!! Bad John!! Don't scare the girl away on her first blog! Maybe we need to tell her to just run away from you, all the rest of us are angels...I swear....
*quickly adjusts halo*
*smiles sweetly*
**snicker**
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Feb 9, 2008 12:52 PM
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Hi all! Weekends keep me busy, and mostly away from the computer, but, since I've dumped my kids with the inlaws, and hubby is taking a nap, I've got free time!
Hi John! I've been around the boards a while, so I know who to watch out for. Ahem. 
Hi met! Too cool that you still have your piggy bank! I just keep my pennies lying around the house in various places, rounding them up every now and then to turn them into 'real' money.
Fi - I hadn't even thought of that, but you're right. One 'wrong' purchase, and your checking account could be empty! And its probably those who run tighter on money than I do that are attracted to this little 'feature' too.
Hi lacey!
Now, let's see if I can come up with blog topic #2...it could be a while. Take care! 
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Feb 9, 2008 5:12 PM
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