CP+B Bows Compass Bank’s No-Fee TV

ATLANTA Crispin, Porter + Bogusky today launches broadcast work for Compass Bank that highlights the institution’s free-checks-for-life program and lack of ATM fees.

Two 30-second television spots, which will air nationally on stations such as CBS, UPN and NBC through the end of the month, were directed by Tim Godsall of Biscuit Filmworks in Hollywood, Calif. The first commercial, “Ficus Tree,” shows bank staffers huddled around a ficus tree, ignoring a growing line of customers. A voiceover asks, “Does the ficus tree at your bank get more attention than you do?”

“Throwing your money away,” which is meant to illustrate that non-Compass Bank customers spend too much money on ATM fees, features examples of people wasting money, such as wiping their wet hands with dollars and stopping the garbage man to toss bills away.

The bank has declared August “Fire your old bank month,” and it is hoping that the incentives featured in the spots will attract new business, sources said.

Compass Bank is based in Birmingham, Ala., with 355 branches across Alabama, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and Arizona. Campaign spending was undisclosed.