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Monday, November 06, 2006

One Bank!

This may very well be one of the most unintentionally funny video clips I’ve ever seen.

Seriously.  I wasn’t even the one up there getting all emotional about a bank merger and I felt embarrassed.

Comments

Avatar for Jen

thanks, rob. now i feel icky and need a shower.

Jen on November 6, 2006 at 12:48 pm

HAHAHAHA!!!!!  I can’t believe how embarrased I would have been just to have been in that crowd knowing he represented me in some way......


I think Rob hates me… I mean, just look at the pic he took of me!

Sphagnum on November 6, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Avatar for aNONOMISLY

..cult company 101.

aNONOMISLY on November 6, 2006 at 01:00 pm

Let’s get down and boogie woogie woogie woogie!


What’s going to happen to US industry when the global warming extremists like John McCain double the price of electricity?  I would think all these factories will close and set up in countries where they aren’t scared of technology.


The Whistler's signature
The Whistler on November 6, 2006 at 01:18 pm

Uh oh!… HA ha ha ha. Bless his heart, he really was into it. OH my gosh that is too funny! Ha…

Zsa Zsa on November 6, 2006 at 01:26 pm
Avatar for Rose

That was beautiful-almost a religious experience. In fact, and perhaps creepiest of all, it really kinda felt like a Christian worship song towards the end. I was kind of waiting for the upraised hands and onset of glossolalia.

Rose on November 6, 2006 at 08:09 pm
Avatar for electnixon

Is this song available on iTunes yet?

electnixon on November 7, 2006 at 04:16 am

So it’s been you buying Barbra Streisand CD’s.


What’s going to happen to US industry when the global warming extremists like John McCain double the price of electricity?  I would think all these factories will close and set up in countries where they aren’t scared of technology.


The Whistler's signature
The Whistler on November 7, 2006 at 04:58 am
Avatar for jm

In the words of Flavor Flav…
“Wooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww!!!!!”

jm on November 7, 2006 at 05:34 am
Avatar for Dee

"When good hippies go bad.”

(Is he saying, “One bank, one con?")

Dee on November 8, 2006 at 06:48 am
Avatar for Chukkee

Come on now…

Cut the cat some slack, y’all.  It takes a lot o’ brass to git up and do yer thang.  It takes a little more to git up and do it with a lil’ mocksey.  Yeah I know… it’s BofA, it’s big bidness, it’s “the enemy”, it’s f_ckin’ brain-deadening sappy as all get-out, but still… he had to be somewhat of a U2 fan at some point; so it caint all be bad...right?  Right?

Chukkee on November 8, 2006 at 09:22 am
Avatar for Steve

Yeah it was hugely stupid. But, that guy’s voice is pretty good, and the musianship is pretty good. I agree with the last comment. Give ‘em some credit. Plus, this could be huge in the viral world. I never knew BofA and MBNA had become one.

Steve on November 8, 2006 at 10:36 am
Avatar for mrclarke

sick corporate behavior.

“of the Japanese style too.”

now i know why i don’t use that bank,

ugh!

mrclarke on November 8, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Avatar for ejc

Nice viral marketing

ejc on November 8, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Avatar for Elizabeth Kates

This is one of the most ridiculous displays of emotion and misdirected talent I’ve ever seen.  Meanwhile, as a customer of both MBNA and Bank of America, this latest takeover by Bank of America of yet another institution with better customer service and rates is a depressing loss of choice and diversity for consumers.  Bank of America has gobbled up far too many small institutions over the past decade.  I am moving my former MBNA business elsewhere.

Elizabeth Kates on November 8, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Avatar for KPB

Does anyone besides me think he looks EXACTLY like what I expect a banker to look like?

KPB on November 8, 2006 at 01:06 pm
Avatar for DirtCrashr

So if I go to work at BofA I can pretend I’m Bono?  Do I get to sing the phone-machine ditties??

DirtCrashr on November 8, 2006 at 01:28 pm
Avatar for Vandal

that guy has nice man boobs

Vandal on November 8, 2006 at 01:44 pm
Avatar for Justin Frydman

Wow,

Corporate culture has really gone to shit. On another note though, that guy actually has a good voice. For a banker.

Justin Frydman on November 8, 2006 at 01:55 pm
Avatar for divamover

This would have been extra-special with interpretive dance added.

divamover on November 8, 2006 at 02:12 pm
Avatar for clairedog

Scary corporate lemmings do a Bob Roberts...ug...how can any of us sleep now? I also need a shower.

clairedog on November 8, 2006 at 02:55 pm
Avatar for Ed Perry

Makes me want to stop on the way home tonight and sing a serenade to a BofA machine.  If they get enough cam clips, they’ll turn it into a movie.

Ed Perry on November 8, 2006 at 03:21 pm
Avatar for charles

Hey, I like the guy and his message. Having worked for McDonald’s while in grad school and realizing how important internalizing the corporate culture is to success of any business, the chap made a great contribution to morale at BoA. Remember his audience is full of believers who already subscribe to the BoA way. Decades after my stint at the gold arch I still remember that a McDonald’s man -----(insert corporate value here)

charles on November 8, 2006 at 03:34 pm
Avatar for one music teacher

It’s actually rather creative.  And yes, it takes guts to get up in front of one’s peers and sing

one music teacher on November 8, 2006 at 05:26 pm
Avatar for Crusty

Had me pissing all over myself.  I’ve got my job app just about finished…

Crusty on November 8, 2006 at 07:14 pm
Avatar for geoff

Sadly, the rest of the world doesn’t have BoA as yet, but we will strive to be worthy of the magnificent concepts enshrined within this song.
With humility and reverence I recorded the audio track and can offer a bootleg copy to all fans of this inspired talented artist.

geoff on November 8, 2006 at 07:45 pm
Avatar for jimmy james

David Brent lives.

jimmy james on November 8, 2006 at 08:31 pm
Avatar for BBQ Bill

Guy carries a tune well. Excellent delivery.
I really don’t don’t give a rat’s patoot about the subject matter of this song--this man’s a damn good singer.

BBQ Bill on November 8, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Avatar for WyzGuy

Yikes - he drank the kool-aid.  Way too much kool-aid.  If he’s hoping for a promotion over this, I hope his manager is gay.

WyzGuy on November 9, 2006 at 02:33 am
Avatar for Pedroman

Oh, man.... oh, man....

He’s not that bad, but I wonder what Simon Cowell would say!

Pedroman on November 9, 2006 at 02:49 am

You might enjoy this one.

likwidshoe on November 9, 2006 at 03:11 am
Avatar for optimist

I think it’s awesome.  I’m sure those guys are well aware how funny this is.

optimist on November 9, 2006 at 04:49 am
Avatar for survived Kool-aid detox myself

Yes he drank the kool-aid desperately… yes he and the guitarist look exactly like stereotypical bankers...heads have to have rolled for this one, tragically....yes he can sing darn well, too bad he wasted it (and all his dignity) on such soulless content...Thank God there is more than this to live for, but it’s really scary to see people who honestly don’t seem to know that.

survived Kool-aid detox myself on November 9, 2006 at 08:19 am
Avatar for Dork-bobba

Difficult to stomach but he still got a standing ovation. My guess is there must have been a high ranking, corporate officer in the room. I haven’t heard anything so heinous since the first time I heard an elevator-music version of Whole Lotta Love playing over my insurance company’s intercom system. :-þ

Dork-bobba on November 9, 2006 at 01:22 pm
Avatar for Still Laughing

Folks, this was funny. Stop acting like you are above having fun and showing off. Yes, this was a conference...and yes the big wigs were there...but this guy will get the next promotion because he was willing to do what the big wigs probably told them they needed to do, to some degree. A song or a speech, this man got his point across and his bosses probably appreciated the passion! But it was funny as heck at the same time.

Still Laughing on November 10, 2006 at 04:17 am
Avatar for Karl Fogel

I’m not so sure that was “unintentionally” funny—seemed like those guys knew exactly what they were doing.  And they were good, too!

Karl Fogel on November 10, 2006 at 09:25 am
Avatar for wtf

ummm...hate to rain on parades or burst bubbles, but this was a nicely produced viral advertising spot. At least three cameras, flawless guitar, good vocals and lyrics...how many business meetings have three cameras set up?

wtf on November 10, 2006 at 09:31 am
Avatar for RR

For whatever its worth, I’m responsible for the dissemination of an ongoing customer satisfaction study comparing the major banks head to head, and over the last 18 months Citibank and BoA have been in a race to see which provides the worst service.  BoA is usually the champ.

RR on November 10, 2006 at 10:33 am
Avatar for Matt

wa wa we wa!  very nice…

Matt on November 10, 2006 at 11:19 am
Avatar for Jay Ost

You have to admit though...that guy can SING.

Jay Ost on November 10, 2006 at 08:42 pm
Avatar for pistol

It would have been great if he got fired at the end.

pistol on November 10, 2006 at 09:59 pm
Avatar for Molly

I want to know what they washed their brains with. It would surely get the soap scum off my shower. This was not funny, it scared the heck out of me.

Molly on November 11, 2006 at 06:20 am
Avatar for Bruce

1) He’s got a good voice

2) Which leads me to suspect that this is a VIRAL marketing campaign.

Bruce on November 11, 2006 at 08:49 am
Avatar for John Dellinger

I didn’t think it was very funny.  They used to call this type of guy a “screw” because he would screw everyone to get ahead.  I didn’t need a shower, but I wish I worn a Depends.  It’s a freakin’ bank, man, just a freakin’ bank.

John Dellinger on November 11, 2006 at 11:19 am
Avatar for John

This dude can sing and he has a CD out too!!!  Nice job man!

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ethan

John on November 11, 2006 at 01:32 pm
Avatar for Hazz

Christ! I didn’t think you could lose your soul to an evil company to this degree… I don’t remember anyone doing anything this gay for Hitler…

Hazz on November 11, 2006 at 03:00 pm
Avatar for Seriously

At least he has pride in what he does. How many of you hate your jobs?  Think of the last time you were exited about something. Doesn’t sound like it is often.

Seriously on November 13, 2006 at 08:59 am
Avatar for Dolf M

Where did the video go? I watched part of it a few days and didn’t finish! It was hilarious… Did they make you take it down? Later, Dolf

Dolf M on November 16, 2006 at 08:51 am
Avatar for Bob

Great Song wonderful singer and outstanding guitar playing.  It was so good it’s the hottest video on Yahoo.com, they did a piece on it and has over 169,000 views.  Pretty cool check it out

Bob on November 16, 2006 at 06:49 pm
Avatar for ZackJack

That was the most amazing video I have ever seen.  Down with U2, and up with those guys!  It wasn’t that these guys knew what they were doing; it was that they knew precisely what they were doing.  And you are darn tootin’ right they got promotions.  The only way that video could have been better is if at the end those guys ripped off their banker outfits to reveal superhero suits underneath, and then flying drop kicked the camera.

ZackJack on November 22, 2006 at 04:11 am
Avatar for dave coulter

just remember that Bank of America was taken over by Nations Bank (NCNB) back in 1998. It is a shame what they have done to all the institutions they took over....corporate greed at its finest!!

dave coulter on November 22, 2006 at 11:31 am
Avatar for James

I really have to raise this issue...because so far, no one has. This video clip is disgusting, it should never have been done and (in my opinion) has pissed off a lot of people. It’s a (half-assed) parody (that’s probably violating copyrights) of a great song by one of the best rock bands in the world...which happens to have arguably the most loyal fanbase in history...that really doesn’t appreciate a video like this (which is bad enough in itself) being connected with a world-class brand (BOA). Whether you agree with this or not (if you don’t...you probably get your paycheck from boa, you must recognize that this was NOT a good idea...cute, maybe...creative, not really...but NOT good for boa’s brand. I really mean no offense...just my gut reactionsmile

James on April 2, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Avatar for James

I really have to raise this issue...because so far, no one has. This video clip is disgusting, it should never have been done and (in my opinion) has pissed off a lot of people. It’s a (half-assed) parody (that’s probably violating copyrights) of a great song by one of the best rock bands in the world...which happens to have arguably the most loyal fanbase in history...that really doesn’t appreciate a video like this (which is bad enough in itself) being connected with a world-class brand (BOA). Whether you agree with this or not (if you don’t...you probably get your paycheck from boa, you must recognize that this was NOT a good idea...cute, maybe...creative, not really...but NOT good for boa’s brand. I really mean no offense...just my gut reactionsmile

James on April 2, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Avatar for James

my apologies for the duplicate post...i received an error message

James on April 2, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Avatar for Art Approaching

very true indeed.

Art Approaching on June 2, 2008 at 09:09 am
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