Grey New York Plugs Features, Kills Cat for Ally in New Spots

Grey New York aims for the funny bone with two new spots for Ally Bank, but they mostly miss the mark.

The more humorous of the two spots, “Nothing Hidden,” (featured above) opens with a man asking an Ally representative if Ally really has no hidden fees on savings accounts. He mentions that he’s worried about “hidden things.” When the representative asks why, he flashes to a series of memories of his father attempting to hide the fact that he’s a crime boss. It’s not exactly laugh-inducing, but also not bad enough to induce frustration or anger. Or maybe I’m just in a good mood today.

The second spot, “New Ways,” tries harder and makes a lot less sense. A woman speaking to an Ally representative asks if it’s true that she can reach Ally 24 hours a day, but there are no branches. She tells the representative that she’s “really reluctant to try new things.” When the representative asks why, we get another series of flashbacks. Like I said, this one makes a lot less sense, and tries a little too hard to be zanily funny. (Why would anyone tell a robotic dog to drink water?) The spot is also less successful in that the Ally feature it talks about doesn’t tie in as well with the flashbacks. Plus, people like cats; they don’t want to see them die on TV.

Credits and cat-killing spot after the jump.

CREDITS

Advertiser: Ally Bank

Spot Title: Nothing Hidden

First Air Date: 9/23/13

Agency: Grey New York

Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren

Creative Director: Ari Halper and Steve Krauss

Art Director: Eric Schutte

Copywriter: Rob Carducci

Agency Producer: Floyd Russ

Production Company (location): O Positive (New York City)

Director: Jim Jenkins

Editor (person & company): Jason Macdonald and Justin Quagliata, NO6 Edit

Music/Sound Design (person & company): Matthew Compton, Black Iris Music