Co-Op Tatt

It’s been a strange old year for Co-Op Bank.

 

Firstly, there was a £1.5bn black hole discovered in its finances……then there was the drugs scandal involving former chairman Paul Flowers……all resulting in the ‘ethical’ bank ending up in the control of a hedge fund as a consequence.

 

All of which undermined the core of Co-Op Bank’s identity…..it stated its USP was the ‘ethical alternative’. When you are owned by a hedge fund which has a primary aim of making as much money as possible, ‘ethical’ and ‘co-operative’ seem a distant memory.

 

Now that the dust has settled (kind of), Co-Op Bank is hoping that a TV ad will start the process of restoring its tarnished reputation.

 

How is it doing this I hear you ask. By showing a man getting a tattoo on his back with the words ‘values’ and ‘ethics’. What followed was a public outcry that it was promoting tattoos. Fear not said Co-Op Bank……it was a fake tattoo.

 

So what is the message? Fake values? Fake ethics?

 

Perhaps whoever was responsible for the millions that have been spent on the rebranding and public messages might have wanted to check the definition of the words ‘ethics’ and ‘values’ before sending mixed messages.

 

Just a thought