Workforce Language Services

Bank of America has taken over billboards across Chicago with its current advertising campaign. The campaign boasts the ease of accessing Bank of America, whether at a branch or online, and the ads are tightly integrated with their locations. An ad at a train station, for instance, shows a person holding a smartphone next to the caption, “I bank on the train.”

The campaign strategically targets both English and Spanish speakers. On Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square, a billboard on the side of a building reads, “Norte, sur, este, oeste, o este, o este. Un ATM donde lo necesitas. ” The man in the ad points to his left – east—where there is an ATM just around the corner.

In Spanish oeste and o este are homonyms. The ad is a perfect example of a clever pun that strategically markets to the Latino market, but the pun doesn’t translate into English. In English the ad would read “North, south, east, west, or east, or east. An ATM where you need it.” The ad loses its cleverness and thus its impact.

The ad demonstrates an effective use of its location and highlights the ubiquity of Bank of America ATMs. It also shows sensitivity to the surrounding population, a vital quality for any effective advertising campaign. The majority of the population in the Logan Square and Avondale neighborhoods (home to Workforce Language Services) is Hispanic. The Spanish language arm of the campaign is clever, strategic, and essential in the campaign’s success.