Ira Goldstein (right) explains "FastCheque" (internet person-to-person money transfer) to his boss in 2006 | |
Agency | TBWA / Whybin |
---|---|
Client | ASB Bank |
Release date(s) | January 2000–September 2010 |
Ira Goldstein is a fictional character played by Steve Mellor, who appears in television and radio commercials for ASB Bank in New Zealand. The commercials were screened from January 2000 to October 2010 and were produced by TBWA / Whybin agency. [1]
In the commercials, Goldstein works as an employee for a New York City bank and is sent to New Zealand by his boss R. J. Lincoln (played by Australian actor Bruce Venables) to "find out what makes that bank different". [2] The first commercial in the series features Goldstein explaining to his boss that people perceive all banks to be the same, with one exception – the ASB Bank. [3] Initially, Goldstein's boss believes his bank is the one exception until he finds out it is located in New Zealand, to his bewilderment.
His boss appears in most advertisements, usually by telephone from his New York office. However he does make visits to New Zealand to meet Goldstein, and to check up on him.
Goldstein is a high-flyer, single and lives in a palatial Auckland home. However Goldstein's own car is an unlikely element of surprise. Rather than an expensive late-model one, he was shown over 2006–2007 chauffeuring his boss around Auckland in a metallic-brown 1979 Princess 2000 HL. Since moving to New Zealand to investigate ASB, Goldstein has started his own business and purchased property (presumably thanks to the helpful bank), but must always keep his activities under wraps when his boss is around.
Goldstein also has difficulty at one particular branch due to his attraction to a female worker at the bank. [4]
The Goldstein series has won several awards from the Communications Association Agency New Zealand (CAANZ). [5] The first award came in 2001, with the 'Herd' of Chickens commercial receiving the Highly Commended award. The Sustained Success Bronze award and the Consumer Services Gold award were received in 2002. In 2003 the campaign received the CAANZ People's Choice Award and the Sustained Success bronze award. 2004 saw the bronze award for the Switching – Easy [ permanent dead link ] radio commercial and another People's Choice Award for the campaign.
On 26 June 2010, it was announced that due to ASB Bank dropping advertising agency TBWA / Whybin, the Goldstein campaign would end.
In Ira's final commercial, which first screened on 27 September 2010, Ira is called back home to New York at the end of his New Zealand assignment, however, he cannot resist calling his ASB personal banker who reminds him of his (by now) huge bagel business. Goldstein immediately returns to New Zealand to re-assume management of his bagel empire and once again take possession of his palatial Auckland home. Soon, however, his former boss arrives on his doorstep, destitute after being fired (possibly due to economic recession, although this is not clarified). Ira tells him to go to New York and find out what makes their bagels different, thereby turning the first commercial in the series on its head (Ira was originally ordered by his boss to go to New Zealand to find out what made ASB Bank different).
At its conclusion, the Goldstein campaign had produced approximately sixty commercials and had run for eleven years.
New Zealand's Jewish community, which perceived Goldstein as an unfortunate stereotype, expressed initial resistance to the advertising character. The popularity and success of the character has, however, largely mollified any initial concerns. [3]
ASB Bank pulled the Ira Goldstein commercials from air for several weeks following the World Trade Center attacks of September 2001, out of respect and for fear of causing offence with their image of a bumbling New York banker.
One commercial that showed Goldstein comparing Rotorua's boiling mud pools to the opening of the World Trade Center was altered in the wake of "9/11". The line of dialogue in question changed so that Goldstein merely commented on the presence of the mud.
John Archibald Banks is a New Zealand former politician. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1981 to 1999, and for ACT New Zealand from 2011 to 2014. He was a Cabinet Minister from 1990 to 1996 and 2011 to 2013. He left Parliament after being convicted of filing a false electoral return – a verdict which was later overturned.
Omnicom Group Inc. is an American global media, marketing and corporate communications holding company, headquartered in New York City.
ASB Bank Limited, commonly stylised as ASB, is a bank owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, operating in New Zealand. It provides a range of financial services including retail, business and rural banking, funds management, as well as insurance through its Sovereign Limited subsidiary, and investment and securities services through its ASB Group Investments and ASB Securities divisions. ASB also operated BankDirect, a branchless banking service that provides service via phone, Internet, EFTPOS and ATMs only.
Trust Bank New Zealand Ltd was a registered bank that operated in New Zealand between 1986 and 1996. It was made up of the former regional savings banks that had their origins as far back as 1847. It was acquired by Westpac Bank in 1996 which phased out the Trust Bank brand at the end of 2002, when the bank was rebranded from WestpacTrust to simply Westpac.
TBWA Worldwide is an international advertising agency whose main headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. With more than 15,000 employees at 289 offices in 81 countries, it is the largest of three global networks of agencies in the portfolio of Omnicom Group.
The New Zealand Football Championship was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a myriad of short-lived football leagues in the country, including the National Soccer League, the National Summer Soccer League and the New Zealand Superclub League. The league was contested by ten teams in a franchise system. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ISPS Handa Men's Premiership. From the 2021 season, it was replaced by the New Zealand National League.
WaiBOP United was a football club based in Hamilton, New Zealand. The club was founded in 2004 and disbanded in 2016 and played in the ASB Premiership. WaiBOP United played their home fixtures at John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge. The club's social media accounts are now inactive.
Sir Ralph Norris is an Australasian business leader, knighted for services to New Zealand business in 2009. He transitioned from CIO to CEO, leading business and culture transformations across different industries. Currently the chairman of Craigs Investment Partners, Norris has held several chair and board roles and was previously CEO of ASB Bank (1991–2001), Air New Zealand (2002–2005) and the Commonwealth Bank Group (2005–2011). While at ASB, Norris was instrumental in the launch of New Zealand’s first automatic teller machines and Eftpos technology. He is known for his business turnaround acumen and 'no surprises' approach, demonstrating a practical and down-to-earth style. He led the banking industry globally in moving executive long-term incentives (LTIs) away from purely financial performance, linking them for the first time to customer satisfaction. Norris is a honorary Fellow of the Institute of IT Professionals, an ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business by the University of New South Wales in 2012, and was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2014. He is a strong advocate of tertiary education.
TBWA\Chiat\Day is the American division of the advertising agency TBWA Worldwide. Created in the 1995 merger of TBWA and Chiat/Day, the agency operates offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Nashville, and Mexico City. Prior to the merger, Chiat/Day created internationally notable advertising, including "1984" for Apple Computer, the advertisement that introduced the Macintosh computer. The merger also inspired the creation of the ad agency St.Lukes by Chiat/Day's London office's employees.
Manawatu United was a football club based in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It participated in the New Zealand Football Championship, and fielded a youth side in the National Youth League. Their home ground was Memorial Park.
Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), is one of the largest global advertising agency networks. It is owned by Interpublic Group and was merged in 2006 with Draft Worldwide, adopting the name Draftfcb. In 2014 the company rebranded itself as FCB.
Sir Robert Anster Harvey is a former New Zealand advertising executive and politician. He is best known for his time as mayor of Waitakere City, which he held for 18 years from 1992 to 2010, and was also president of the New Zealand Labour Party in 1999 and 2000.
The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square, off Queen Street, the centre provides a cultural, entertainment and conventions venue space in the heart of the city, and is managed by Auckland Unlimited. The origin of its name is Motu Aotea, the Māori name for Great Barrier Island, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand and approximately 90 km from downtown Auckland.
Mountain is a 2003 television and cinema advertisement launched by Sony Corporation to promote the PlayStation 2 video game console. The budget for production and advertising space purchases for the 60-second piece amounted to £5m across all markets. The commercial depicts a Brazilian crowd congregating to form a mountain of human bodies, all competing to reach the top of the pile. The campaign surrounding Mountain was handled by advertising agency TBWA London. The commercial was directed by Frank Budgen. Production was contracted to Gorgeous Enterprises, with post-production by The Mill. Mountain premiered in 30 countries on 13 November 2003.
Chadwick Reuben Coombes is a New Zealand born association footballer who plays as a midfielder for Waitakere United in the ASB Premiership. Before joining Auckland City in 2004, he played for the Football Kingz in the now defunct Australian NSL.
Albert Riera Vidal is a Spanish former professional footballer who is currently the manager of New Zealand Northern League club Auckland City. Riera spent the majority of his playing career in New Zealand, mainly appearing as a defensive midfielder for Auckland City in the New Zealand Football Championship and for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.
Tamati Andre Williams is a New Zealand footballer and fashion model. He last played as a goalkeeper for AaB in the Danish Superliga, and has represented New Zealand at the international level.
Lillian Jessie Chrystall was a New Zealand architect. She was the first woman to receive a national New Zealand Institute of Architects award.