| Subject: Script: Bank of Amerika |
| From: "Barrett Brown" <barriticus@gmail.com> |
| Date: 10/3/07, 17:25 |
| To: "Kevin Depew" <kdepew@minyanville.com> |
Episode: Bank of Amerika (Fox Format)
Barrett Brown
Hoofy: Good evening. Bank of America is launching a $25 million dollar advertising blitz that's aimed at increasing its share of wealthy clientèle. The move comes after the bank's acquisition of U.S. Trust, which itself has long been known for providing wealth management service to some of the nation's richest families, including the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. Bank of America execs hope that the new marketing campaign will help the financial institution shake its own image as a purely blue-collar bank catering mainly to the working class, and instead make it an appealing option for high-dollar clients with at least $3 million to invest.
Boo: You know, I read they were going to be doing this ad campaign, to try to attract wealthier bankers.
Hoofy: Uh-huh.
Boo: Spending $25 million on it.
Hoofy: Yep, that's what I just said-
Boo: Lot of money to spend on an ad campaign.
Hoofy: Yeah, well, advertising's an expensive outlay.
Boo: But does it have to be?
Hoofy: (Irritated) What are you getting at, Boo?
Boo: Well, Hoofy, it just so happens that I've always been sort of interested in advertising myself.
Hoofy: Oh, no.
Boo: ... and I put together this little package here, and I was hoping-
Hoofy: We're not showing it on the air, Boo. We still have to do the story about James Carville getting into that knife fight.
Boo: Come on, I was up all night doing this.
Hoofy: (tired) Fine, let's see it.
Boo: Now, if anyone from Bank of America is watching, keep in mind I'd only charge, say, $6 million. No, $7. $7 million. And I'll thrown in-
Hoofy: Boo.
Boo: Okay, here we go. First, I've got a TV spot aimed at convincing wealthy investors that Bank of America is the way to go. Producer, can we roll that?
Cue YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLcc19mt4eA
00:00 to 00:17
Back to studio; Hoofy's mouth is gaping open, Boo looks satisfied with his work
Boo: Pretty good production values, huh?
Hoofy: Boo, was that the Soviet national anthem?
Boo: Pretty, right? Don't worry, though; it's not even copyrighted. See, that's the key - no licensing fees! And that's why I can charge so much less than my competitors in the 'traditional' advertising world-
Hoofy: Hoofy, the point of the ad campaign is to get wealthy investors comfortable investing with Bank of America. They're not going to go for old Soviet propaganda. Makes it look like they're gonna... nationalize their bank accounts or something.
Boo: Now, come on, you haven't even seen the whole clip. Producer, can we...? Thanks.
Cue YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLcc19mt4eA
00:41 to 00:53
Hoofy: Oh, come on!
Boo: What?
Hoofy: You've got a picture of Vladimir Lenin right there!
Boo: Where?
Hoofy: Where - on the train, next to all of the Soviet flags!
Boo: Oh, that's who that is... thought it was Michael Chertoff... well... I'll take $5 million for it.
Hoofy: You don't have much experience in advertising, do you?
Boo: (Haughty) Nothing "formal," no.
Hoofy: Good night.
Boo: $4 million.