ANZ Promises It Isn’t Rude and Cranky

Reeling from an economic recession spurred by the financial industry’s collapse, consumers are eager to finger big bank villains. ANZ gladly offers up "Barbara," the rude, cranky, deceptive and dismissive bank manager starring in a pair of parodies that demonize the bank’s competition.

ANZ, the largest bank in Australia, is using Barbara — the epitome of what people detest about banking services and policies — to draw wry contrasts between itself and the cold-hearted perceptions of big banks.

In one of the spots, a customer complains to Barbara. "You said I should open this everyday account because it had NO monthly account fees," the customer protests.

"No need to thank me," Barbara snaps back.

"I’m not, look at all these!"

"Ah yeah," Barbara says. "You see when I said no monthly account fees that was no with a silent ‘k’ as in you may not know about the fees until the fees are charged. Your mistake."

ANZ – "KNOW FEE CHECKING"
Barbara tries to straighten out one of her customers who complains about fees on her no-fee checking account.

ANZ – "NO GO AWAY"
Barbara dismisses the complaints of one of her customers and instead signs him up for a product he doesn’t want.

Reality Check: It wouldn’t be funny if it wasn’t true.