BNP shows its advertising campaign "I want your money"

Tags :Banking agency . BNP

Seven years after its creation, BNP wants to assert the image of an objective bank in its relations with customers and one that isn’t afraid to announce to the public the nature of its business: the money business performed skilfully, in the interest of the bank and its customers.

That’s how, on 15 March 1973, BNP’s most known advertising campaign was launched with its shock slogan “To speak frankly, I want your money.”
This poster, displayed in a street of Paris shows an actor playing the part of a banker. The banker challenges the public with a formula that is at odds with the customary discretion in the banking profession: “Pour parler franchement, votre argent m’intéresse”/”To speak frankly, I want your money.” The provocative slogan will be diffused on the main communication channels of the time: television, radio, advertising posters in black and white, daily newspapers and magazines.
Additional formulas like “Don’t be afraid of disturbing me, I like to talk about money” or “You take money seriously, we are going to understand each other” also accompanied the posters.

If BNP’s initiative was both lauded and sharply criticised, its immense media impact seems to have been rather positive for the institution. Its gamble involving completely accepting the perception that public opinion had of bankers turned out to be beneficial. During 1973, the opening of new accounts increased.