“SHUT UP AND MIND YOUR BUSINESS!”
Business, not as in the “stay out of my personal life” sense, but business in the sense of a company or a trade.
Remember the phrase “shut up and sing” that was popular around the time when Hollywood, musicians and singers believed we wanted to know their political opinions (yes, I know, they still think that)? Most of us could care less about the performer’s political thoughts. In general, most believe it is better for the politically unsavvy (I’m being generous here) entertainers to ply their trade rather than spew ignorant and sometimes ridiculous political statements. Hence, the “shut up and sing”!
While listening to the radio a few days back, an ad came on that got me thinking. The concept was similar in scope to the “shut up and sing” idea. I call it “shut up and mind your business”.
The ad was from a local bank, which bank is not important (drop me a line and I’ll let you in on it). The entire ad spot was dedicated not to what services they offered. No discussion of their latest interest rates on loans or savings or even their latest offers of bling to open a new account. Instead, the entire ad focused on the fact they wanted you to know THEY donated 10% of their profits to a slew of different charities. It’s nothing new, we’ve all heard this stuff before from various companies. Obviously, they are attempting to show us their virtuosity and to let us know just how much they care. Here is a thought for the bank: pay attention to your business!
Instead of taking 10% of your profits (that originate with the fees and interest your customers pay) and donating it to various groups which we may or may not actually support, why not REDUCE the fees and interest rates by the amount of the 10% profits you give to others? Now that I’m thinking of it, how many people in your bank do you need to employ to run your charitable donation scheme? And what about the costs to run this radio campaign? I mean, your business is banking, right? Run your banking business, reduce the customers cost and let them decide which charity to give their dollars to!