Larger-than-life celebrities
When the O’Carroll Group decided to introduce City Savings Bank’s branch managers to the community via billboards, our innocent subjects didn’t realize the power of advertising—and how it would change their lives.
Greg, Belton, John and Chris were good sports during the photo shoot, good-naturedly playing along with us when we asked them to strike an unusual pose or hold a strange prop. The O’Carroll Group production team explained our strategy to the bankers as we handed them garden implements: “People relate to real people. Let’s show ‘em you’re not stuffy bankers; you’re down-to-earth guys with a sense of humor. These billboards will make you familiar, so folks will feel that they know you.”
That last sentence was an understatement. These days, poor Greg, Belton, John and Chris can’t go anywhere without being recognized. Bank customers and strangers alike never tire of telling them, “Hey, I saw you on the billboard!” Their names are household words (at least in some households). Their kids and grandkids know all the bank billboard locations by heart.
When you see your face on a billboard every day, it’s hard not to get a big head. To their credit, these four bankers haven’t let celebrity spoil them. After all, they’re just down-to-earth guys with a sense of humor—and some good deals on business loans.
When the O’Carroll Group decided to introduce City Savings Bank’s branch managers to the community via billboards, our innocent subjects didn’t realize the power of advertising—and how it would change their lives.
Greg, Belton, John and Chris were good sports during the photo shoot, good-naturedly playing along with us when we asked them to strike an unusual pose or hold a strange prop. The O’Carroll Group production team explained our strategy to the bankers as we handed them garden implements: “People relate to real people. Let’s show ‘em you’re not stuffy bankers; you’re down-to-earth guys with a sense of humor. These billboards will make you familiar, so folks will feel that they know you.”
That last sentence was an understatement. These days, poor Greg, Belton, John and Chris can’t go anywhere without being recognized. Bank customers and strangers alike never tire of telling them, “Hey, I saw you on the billboard!” Their names are household words (at least in some households). Their kids and grandkids know all the bank billboard locations by heart.
When you see your face on a billboard every day, it’s hard not to get a big head. To their credit, these four bankers haven’t let celebrity spoil them. After all, they’re just down-to-earth guys with a sense of humor—and some good deals on business loans.
Like Us
About Us
Drawings by Greg Pavlovich
