I apologize if you are tired of the “overprotective parents” theme on this blog of late. Perhaps I am retroactively lashing out at my own parents for preventing me from spending hundreds of their hard-earned dollars on G.I. Joe’s Mobile Command Unit. Who can say? All I know is, helicopter parents are the most obnoxious kind of all.
Your federal bailout money at work.
You may have heard a commercial on the radio for Chase, a corporate conglomerate once called Chase Manhattan Bank, which is in turn a large part of the worldwide behemoth known as JP Morgan Chase. JP Morgan Chase does not like taxes, but its turn-ons include federal stimulus money ($25 billion) and foreclosing on your house.
They are also a big fan of your business, which is why they market Chase Account Alerts, which allow you to be notified whenever a charge bigger than a set amount appears on your Visa or whatever. In the radio ad, a father sets up an alert so that he will be notified every time his daughter spends more than $20. Yes, you heard that right.
I would argue that it's my right to go through another grown-up's belongings.
Some might suggest that a teen who is given the responsibility of having her own debit card should be given the freedom to use that card, and then learn from her mistakes if she overspends. Others, however, seem to believe that if a teen is given a debit card, she should therefore be surveiled by her parents, like a sex offender or an al Qaida recruit captured at LaGuardia. Obviously, Chase comes down on the latter side.
What’s most disturbing about this radio ad is that, like most advertisements, it is less about extolling the virtues of a specific product or service, and more about establishing a bond between consumer and corporation. The way that is done is by cozying up to the consumer, by convincing them that the person in the commercial is just like you and does things you do and shares your values. Values like subjecting your own children to a Stalinesque surveillance apparatus that hinders their psychological development. That is why this advertisement is so sinister. It implies and insists that this behavior is normal, that it is what all parents do and should do.
Maybe this app was made by the folks from Shazam.
I realize that while this is about Chase and its advertising, it really has nothing to do with the Chase app. Unfortunately, I was not able to use the Chase app (see above) so therefore I cannot explain to you how it sucks. But don’t worry — I’m pretty sure that it does.
