Wednesday, December 12, 2007

American Express Plum Card - AMEX: How Good Is Your Corporate Marketing Memory?

Now I know why American Express named The Green Card The Green Card. It was my dad said because it gave people permission to live way beyond their means - kind of like a Visa - which was the name another company stole from my dad who created The Green Card - and by extension - why MasterCard can't run in the same pack. It's brand name is not a Visa or a Green Card. So how good is your corporate memory? So Plum Card; What are the origins of your brand names? What's your brand story? What is there that I want to recite in the manner of a beloved nursury rhyme?

Now American Express is launching The Plum Card (playing the old colors and flavors trick again) with advertising attempting to create demand by daring me to guess who else has one. Tell me there's some mastermind CMO or CEO behind this one! Is it a card for all the wanna be interior designers who benefit from purchasing things wholesale? Or it a card for the great retail public who don't really have a clue what trade terms are? Let's just dumb everyone's financial terpitude another notch. The Card bills/positions itself as a "Trade Card" with 2% cash back. Will they let me buy furniture less 60%? That's TRADE TERMS! This company isn't working in your best interest! As Casey Stengle said, "Is this as good as it gets, or is this all you got?"

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

CONTINUING sans serif reverse type?
it causes blindness, you know

H. Martin Calle said...

and more

Anonymous said...

I actually really appreciate the terms of the Plum Card whether they reall are trade terms or not. Here are some good arguments: http://grantpowell.com/api/Index.cfm/k/Plum%20Card/blog.search/cmd/tag/tags/Plum%20Card/t/Search-Blog-by-Tags.htm

H. Martin Calle said...

I was only objecting to the bastardization use of the term 'trade terms' watering down the concept for the sake of a buck. In today's parlance, that watering down is the advertising industry's way of telling the truth, or as McCann-Erickson's slogan goes, "The Truth Well Told." - Martin

Anonymous said...

As a lay person but an ameteur ad critic, can I say that the Ad for the Plum card with pinkberry or whatever its called is the biggest piece of pretentious, yuppie crap I ever saw. The whole phony implication that there is this selection process of who they are going to give them to, and the whole touchie-feelie sugary tone makes me as a business man want to throw up. "Swirly goodness...", how gay were the writers of this ad anyway!!!! Do they really think people fall for that BS about trying to get one of the first ten thousand, like if your credit is good enough Amex won't send you one because you were number 10001. What a bunch of disengenous crap. But I guess they might be getting alot of boutique shops, bed and breakfasts, hair salons, and antique shop businesses. Oh and maybe Gilmor girl fans. Come to think of it this ad reminds me of Gilmore Girl dialogue. Why they think that would inspire or interest a broad type of business owners I don't know.

Anonymous said...

As a lay person but an ameteur ad critic, can I say that the Ad for the Plum card with pinkberry or whatever its called is the biggest piece of pretentious, yuppie crap I ever saw. The whole phony implication that there is this selection process of who they are going to give them to, and the whole touchie-feelie sugary tone makes me as a business man want to throw up. "Swirly goodness...", how gay were the writers of this ad anyway!!!! Do they really think people fall for that BS about trying to get one of the first ten thousand, like if your credit is good enough Amex won't send you one because you were number 10001. What a bunch of disengenous crap. But I guess they might be getting alot of boutique shops, bed and breakfasts, hair salons, and antique shop businesses. Oh and maybe Gilmor girl fans. Come to think of it this ad reminds me of Gilmore Girl dialogue. Why they think that would inspire or interest a broad type of business owners I don't know.

Anonymous said...

We love our plum card.

Anonymous said...

I personally think the 2% back is great

Anonymous said...

well in that case

i think it might work well for me

thx

Anonymous said...

Well let's see...it's December '08 and I'm feeling pretty good about the $3500.00 AMX cash credits so far this year. I tell you, it's a heck of alot better than "blackout", non-available free flights...Plumb card it everything it says it is...bottom line...cash IS king.