Funny Money talks to home buyers
Comedian and Sitcom Star Jerry Seinfeld is to appear in TV commercials for the NSW and QLD mortgage home loan lender Newcastle Greater Building Society. Billy Connelly did it for ING Bank, so the formula seems a sound one.
Follow the Dollar
Apparently Jerry likes the smell of money. This will be the third ad he has done, with the other two being for Microsoft and AMEX credit cards. OK, Microsoft is not a bank, but in the US right now that’s a good thing. Then again Microsoft is as safe as houses and does have a license to print money with its grip on desktop office suite products.
No ones saying how the wealthy comedian's fortunes have fared in the US credit crunch, but “safe” investments like banks and financial firms have been hit hard in the US mortgage meltdown, so who knows?
So is this a coup for a Newcastle financial services provider or just a sign of how far former stars will travel to get a pay-check these days to pay the mortgage and put food on the table in these uncertain times.
Well, not far apparently. The 15 commercials were filmed in the US in Cedarhurst, Long Island, which had road lines and street signs replaced to make it look like Newcastle, [yes, I seen ads like this, where you think “I didn’t know that we built homes here like that”.]
The home loans lender wanted a celebrity for a new customer testimonial campaign where punters explained why they liked it more than a bank.
"We didn't want any old celebrity and Seinfeld was on top of our list - but we never, ever expected him to say yes," spokesman Craig Eardley said.
"We emailed a proposal to his manager and followed it up with a call - and they said, 'Yes'.
Seinfeld co-wrote the scripts, which see him standing outside a branch and doing the same style of monologues that featured at the beginning and end of his long-running sitcom.
The multi-million-dollar ad campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld for the mortgage home loans provider will only shown in the Newcastle regional New South Wales and on the Gold Coast area in Queensland, Australia
