• Improving commercials and ads.

Dear bunq and bunqrs, Yesterday I saw a bunq movie on YouTube about a former bank robber. Apparently it was sort of a bunq commercial. You know that I love everything you guys do, really love it. But, I think bunq lately has a complex way of communicating and that contradicts the simplicity of the App. The only commercial that hit the sweet spot was the first TV commercial, in my honest option. That one was different, bold and most of all: to the point! I understand what bunq is trying to do here, and I also understand the strategic move behind the minimalistic website and one-liner posters. But I personally think it fails. The commercials are unclear in what bunq is and what bunq does (differently). The artwork on the posters are absolutely stunning, love them (even though they are technical and anatomical incorrect sometimes), but they lack in bringing the message across in my option. The movie has a too complex storyline for most users and it focusses on what other banks do wrong instead of what bunq does different, which is a very different tone. Most cases in the movie I even don’t recognize. Love the real former bank robber thought 😊 A perfect example of a good and most of all clear commercial is this new one from Moneyou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5EG-uDvyM. I discuss this in the bunq Telegram group and in general they fully agree with the above. Some bunqrs even ask me to put there name under the this post. To say it in short: I love the bunq way of doing things and I have the upmost respect for what you guys are doing, but I would like to see that bunq improves her messages in commercials and ads. Greeting and keep up the good work. John Smit and also signed by Bastiaan Steinmeier, Hemmik Leopold, Michiel L, Helmer Zandbergen and Timo Nowitzki

    The "bank robber" short movie he is talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z_hNIe_8_s

      I want to add that although I love style of the illustrations you use in your ads, I don’t really understand why you selected the current illustration you use on the trams, the website and the TV commercials. I don’t think it brings across the right message and that it really confuses people. Why use an undressing woman for this? This has nothing to do with bunq! I think using a more neutral image such as the air balloons is far better! Woman and not objectified this way and it fits bunq’s philosophy of freedom!

        De advertentie van MoneYou Go zou idd de manier zijn voor bunq om hun boodschap over te brengen. De stijl en sfeer van deze reclame past precies bij bunq

          Just this week the World Cup was on the large TV in the staff canteen at my work, when suddenly in an ad break our attention was drawn to the deep black screen and the cartoon girl with her shirt half off winking at us suggestively… You could tell people were a bit startled, wondering what this was on daytime TV. When the rainbow bars and the bunq logo appeared underneath I noticed my colleague glance at me as though to say “Hey, isn’t that the new bank you use?”. I would have liked to have been proud in that moment, but instead I looked away and sat there in silent embarrassment until the next ad took over the attention.

            As I can't keep up with the number of messages in Telegram, I missed this discussion, but I would like to add to it anyway.


            I mostly agree with what John and the others are saying: the advertisements are not bringing across the bunq message in the most optimal way.

            When I see a bunq commercial, I'm often a bit confused about what I'm watching. For example: during the world championship, the bunq commercial asks 'why should a group account only be for 2 people, not for 11?'. This is a clear question and a good reference to the football match. However, the background image is a slightly undressed woman giving me a wink(?). this is completely unrelated to the product bunq is offering and does not add anything to the commercial!

            I believe that a message is much more (positively) memorable if it is brought in a more direct / funny way. For example (I'm not a marketeer, but something I quickly made up now): why not start the commercial with 2 confused / shocked amateur footballers in the middle of a pile of empty glasses looking at their large after-match pub bill that's split 2-ways, then have your text 'why should a group account only be for 2 people', after which the other 9 guys get added.

            The same goes for the banners I see all around amsterdam: 2 kissing people, which are meant to sell an account for me and my 'BAE'... sorry, but... dislike.


            I may be a minority here, but even though I do think the images of the woman are quite cool / pretty in a way, I don't think it's a branding style bunq should stick to. Instead I'd prefer clear cut message, brought with a sense of humor (maybe clawing a bit at the big banks) in a way that everyone can relate.

            I'm sure a great deal of time, money and attention is spend to these commercials, also aimed at gaining 'name-fame', but I definitely feel they could be a LOT more effective.

              The moneyou ad is great, something similar for bunq would be awesome indeed to better describe what bunq is and to make people interested.


              I do like ads like this though https://youtu.be/BDW8vesc6zU


              A bunq (community) Telegram group? I'm interested! :) @timvisee

                The Dutch Telegram group: https://t.me/bunqnl

                And the English: https://t.me/bunqen

                  For only one day, I did not open the Telegram app, and this is what happened 😉. But @all and especially @bunq, if you already know bunq, the ads make sense. If you don't (and that's were ads are supposed for, right? 😀), It's not clear what bunq does. "An experience unlike any other", what do they mean by that? A better way of watching TV? I wouldn't think of a bank. The first ad that was broadcasted on TV was straight to the point. "Why can't you open a shared account with more then two people?" And "Why does my money get invested in shady businesses?'. This focussed directly on the standpoint of bunq!

                    I totally agree with everything that has been said. If you want to reach people / new potential customers, you have to be very transparant, to the point and use visuals that represent who you are and what you do. I did not see the moneyou ad before, and besides the fact that it is too long (hehe) it has a great visual style, with a good mix with text, people, explaining stuff. If I were bunq I'd start looking for a good starting point and visual to use for commercials (paper/digital) that really strikes a cord and that people find interesting and fun. Don't be afraid to adress the inner nerd in people. Maybe using the 'old ways' vs the 'bunq ways' would be a good start: find those negative/slow/annoying things about other banks and show what you can offer that makes bunq a fun bank that puts the power back to the people ;)

                      I find there is not enough joined up imagery within the ad. So while the bank robber really interests me there seems to be no end tag line. There should also be a series of bank robber ads where he discusses why bunq is brilliant and so on. But then you have the bunq woman image and the kissing couple which tells me nothing about bunq and certainly had no tie in with the bank robber. Finally the Dutch ad tells me quickly about bunq and also makes good use of the rainbow colours of bunq.

                      An ad has 30 seconds to engage and inform and to make the viewer want to know more. Billboards need to be recognisable in seconds. At the moment bunq achieves none of this, and if anything just makes people wonder what they just saw?

                        The "no investing" part of bunqs filosofie is a unique selling point in the industry and set bunq apart from the rest. bunq should use this USP more!

                          Hmm I personally like the bank robber. Banks do rob us, they take our money and make constructions like synthetic CDOs, they play with Libor interest, they collect interest on money they sign into existence with the stroke of a pen. So any Fintech company (I wouldn't call bunq a bank, bank is an insulting term) who comes up with the sentence the bank robber starts with (I used to rob banks, now the banks rob us) has me hooked immediately.

                            Indeed. However, I'm missing the story ind the end of the commercial on why bunq is a better solution. bunq is named in the end, but it is not explicitly said what bunq does better in this context.

                              Such robber story on itself is a great idea. But, it fails in execution. Would be better if this famous robber shared some admiration toward bunq instead of bashing other banks. Focus on you own strength 💪 instead of the weaknesses of others I would say.

                                For all Dutchies: Have you seen the "ad" bunq made with De Speld? For me, this one also doesn't trigger me to click on the bunq-link... The link sends you to https://www.bunq.com/nl/de-speld

                                  In general the related between the story / image and the product of bunq is extremely weak. It’s a bit in line with ‘Bob buys a bread, he pays 2 euro. Get bunq now!’

                                    During lunch I made just a simple ad. Just to show that a small change can have an impact. I call it the "just because.."-series :) The point is to explain more why you should consider bunq. "Unlike any other" is a too misty term I think. And bunq not bank is to short to stick. I prefer Stop banking, start bunqing. Don't be too critical, I only spent 10 min on it.

                                      Ali, ik hoop echt dat je meeleest! Ik ben sinds het begin fan van de look & feel van bunq, van het pasje tot de app. Maar de nieuwe huisstijl in de commercials is echt slecht. Het pakt je helemaal niet omdat niemand overstapt omdat het andere product 'anders is'. De focus ligt helemaal niet op waarom men over zou moeten stappen, terwijl dat het belangrijkste is lijkt mij.

                                      Waarom is nergens te zien dat bunq een gratis account heeft? Zelfde verhaal als de moneyou reclame. En natuurlijk: als je eenmaal de gratis rekening hebt stapt iedereen over naar premium. Because, you know, bunq.

                                        What happens when you have same time to spare in the train? …… Well this :)