Have you ever been stuck in a city you don’t know and can’t find a taxi ANYWHERE? Or you’ve fallen over and cut your knee and could really do with a plaster and a spare pair of tights? Or maybe you’ve gone a bit too crazy in the sales and really can’t handle the mountain of bags you’ve been trying to drag onto the tube?
Well, the new first direct buddy service is now here to help you deal with all your day-to-day problems. Download the application on your phone and if you’re in any kind of predicament, just search for the nearest buddy who can come and help you.
OK, OK, I’m joking. But, I really fell for it at first – and judging from the comments underneath the video, so did a lot of others.
The first direct buddy video is the latest in a series of spoof clips to prove that the online bank is dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service. The video is a way of visualising first direct’s offer and according to one of the cheesy, smiling buddies, “being a buddy is all about real human interaction”.
The final scene that sees the buddies walking down a street with a smile on all of their faces may be a little cringe-worthy, but with so many brands and organisations creating online content, it’s not often that something genuinely stands out – but this does for all the right reasons and is a good way of visualising what it’s like to bank with first direct. Let’s just hope its customer service team can keep up the high levels of enthusiasm that the actors in the video maintain!
I came across a similar concept last week, created by JetBlue. The US airline wanted to prove that people accept things on a plane they just wouldn’t accept in real life and adopted the same kind of spoof video format – reminiscent of embarrassing ‘caught on camera’ shows, like Punk’d and Trigger Happy TV. The videos feature a series of real life scenarios – like tiny portions of food and drinks for extortionate prices and uncomfortable amounts of leg room. They really do hammer home the main point that, “If you don’t take it on the ground, don’t take it in the air.”
Both examples successfully utilise the ‘spoof video’ format in different ways, with the same lasting message – customer service is clearly important to both brands.
Having said that, I could really do with a first direct buddy from time to time in the real world. Let’s hope the bank rolls out that plan as part of the next stage of the campaign…