Capital
One Barbarians - Band of ferocious barbarians who
appear out of nowhere to attack people using credit cards with
high interest rates. Of course, when someone in the commercial
pulls out a
Capital One
card, the barbarian horde is stopped dead in its tracks. Why?
Because, as the advertisers want you to believe, Capital One (the
No. 5 credit card issuer) offers the lowest interest rates
around.
The
barbarians - who are dressed in furs, chains and swinging medieval
weapons of destruction - are just a symbolic representation of
the pain and tribulation that a credit card user feels when they
have to pay high interest rates.
In one commercial, a
couple at a shopping mall discuss what credit card to use to buy
a product. This simple dialog sets into motion a rush of crazed
barbarians who determinedly advance on
the unsuspecting consumers. As the barbarians make their way
through the mall, they wreak havoc and pillage along the way.
But, just
as the barbarians are about to pounce on the couple, one of them
decides to use a Capital One credit card and the entire army of
hooligans cease their conquering ways.
In another spot, a man with a
competitor's card is physically shot upward by a catapult
operated by barbarians. The catchphrase used on all these
commercials spots is the intrusive question "What's in
YOUR
wallet?"
During a follow-up campaign, the
barbarians have been put out of work because so many consumers are
choosing to use Capital One credit cards. Now, the formerly
ferocious fighters (stilled dressed in their fighting garb) are
forced to take other jobs like waiters, dog walkers, or
paramedics to support themselves in these uncertain times. How'd
you like to get mouth-to-mouth from a foul smelling Viking
warrior with bad teeth?
