New Scotiabank Commercial Driving Me Insane...

[Kaspian]

I know I shouldn't be watching TV hardly at all, but there's a new Scotiabank ad in heavy rotation which drives me nuts. 
This is the text:

Advisor:  "So with this financial plan you can save $1500 a year and still manage your expenses.  It's like you're financially new and improved."
Man:  "We can finally get your mom a laptop."
Woman:  "...With some wi-fi."

(Me:  :/ )

First of all, it's not "savings" if you instantly decide to spend it in less than one second.  (Even before the gains have been realized.)
Secondly, $1500 for a laptop?!  I really hope that's not what they meant and only a portion of their "savings" would go towards it.
Thirdly, is this how most people actually think?  "Yay, that cost less so I can now buy more other stuff!"

I'd link to the video here but I don't think they deserve the trafffic. 

[Two9A]

Right, you can get yourself a Chromebook for $200, and that will have wifi and all the fancy stuff. As will any computer from the last ten years. Heck, my son has a Compaq that someone threw out (and I bought a replacement screen for), and it has onboard wifi.

Here's hoping that couple don't blow the rest on anything else...

[lifeinhd]

Secondly, $1500 for a laptop?!  I really hope that's not what they meant and only a portion of their "savings" would go towards it.

Eh, the laptop I'm typing on cost me $1800, and if I'd just walked into the Apple Store and grabbed one like your average sukka it would have been $2600. Of course, I've had this laptop for 3 years, and I will be keeping it until it dies, at which point I'll sell it for $200 like my last one. And it has given me a ton of utility, so I have no regrets about spending what amounts to a cheap phone plan every month ($26.67/mo assuming it lasts 5 years).

Of course, I didn't buy it with newfound "savings" from rearranging other debts, or I might feel differently. I saved and purchased with cash (or actually, mostly Apple Store gift cards. Buying those at a discount saved me >$400).

[EricL]

I know I shouldn't be watching TV hardly at all, but there's a new Scotiabank ad in heavy rotation which drives me nuts. 
This is the text:

Advisor:  "So with this financial plan you can save $1500 a year and still manage your expenses.  It's like you're financially new and improved."
Man:  "We can finally get your mom a laptop."
Woman:  "...With some wi-fi."

(Me:  :/ )

First of all, it's not "savings" if you instantly decide to spend it in less than one second.  (Even before the gains have been realized.)
Secondly, $1500 for a laptop?!  I really hope that's not what they meant and only a portion of their "savings" would go towards it.
Thirdly, is this how most people actually think?  "Yay, that cost less so I can now buy more other stuff!"

I'd link to the video here but I don't think they deserve the trafffic.

It sounds like the ad agency the New Scotiabank employed totally bought into the consumer sucker myth.  And they assume that everybody else can only be motivated by it rather than anything else.  I guess that's better than using sex...

[Le Poisson]

The one that gets to me (same bank) is where the kids want to go to summer camp and the parents look at each other with a smile. Yay, you saved gobs on your mortgage so you can spend it on summer camp and maybe get lucky.

A hooker would be cheaper.

Even the tag line 'You're richer than you think" says blow your cash so we can keep you in debt when I hear it on their ads. Funny because, thats pretty much the same message we share here, but here its in the context of "Stop spending, stay richer than you think"

[Kaspian]

Even the tag line 'You're richer than you think" says blow your cash so we can keep you in debt when I hear it on their ads. Funny because, thats pretty much the same message we share here, but here its in the context of "Stop spending, stay richer than you think"

^^ Oh man, Prospector!!  That slogan also drives me nuts.  "You're richer than you think," when it's complete and utter bullshit.

"The average debt held by Canadians, excluding mortgages, has increased by 2.7 per cent to $20,910, says the report."
"Car lending and installment loans from banks drove up the country’s total consumer debt by $122 billion in the first quarter to $1.544 trillion..."

Source:  http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/spending_saving/2015/06/09/canadian-love-of-cars-sends-consumer-debt-skyrocketing.html

That's T-R-I-L-L-I-O-N!!  Do people know that our consumer suckas owe more from buying crap in total than the entire Greek government?  :(

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Ah, banks.

As soon as they realized they could make more money encouraging their customers to spend and borrow than they could make encouraging them to save and invest, they turned into a bunch of lampreys.

It's sad that so many people still believe banks give intelligent or reliable financial advice to customers, when their actual goal is to separate their customers from as much money as possible. Can you imagine the public reaction if cigarette manufacturers did the same thing in this day and age, and promoted the health benefits of their products?

[zephyr911]

I know I shouldn't be watching TV hardly at all, but there's a new Scotiabank ad in heavy rotation which drives me nuts. 
This is the text:

Advisor:  "So with this financial plan you can save $1500 a year and still manage your expenses.  It's like you're financially new and improved."
Man:  "We can finally get your mom a laptop."
Woman:  "...With some wi-fi."

(Me:  :/ )

First of all, it's not "savings" if you instantly decide to spend it in less than one second.  (Even before the gains have been realized.)
Secondly, $1500 for a laptop?!  I really hope that's not what they meant and only a portion of their "savings" would go towards it.
Thirdly, is this how most people actually think?  "Yay, that cost less so I can now buy more other stuff!"

I'd link to the video here but I don't think they deserve the trafffic.

Who says they weren't planning to put the first 2 months' savings toward a cheap netbook and bank the rest? ;)

But seriously: I agree that banks have become parasitic and largely seek to exploit irresponsible consumers, rather than encouraging the financial success of savers.