Posted by unregistered user at 3/11/08 6:26 p.m.

Did you miss the obvious, or did I? What the heck does the Whoo Hoo campaign have to do with Washington Mutual anyway?

Posted by Kubla Kant at 3/11/08 7:32 p.m.

Well, it sort of rhymes. And how the whoo-hoo can you trademark an expression that was in common usage long ago?

Posted by NYFLWA at 3/11/08 9:04 p.m.

Their slogan should be "D'oh!" It's lame as was the timing. Not soon after reporting huge losses and thousands of layoffs, they trot out this tripe. Take your deposits to a credit union. There's you'll enjoy higher dividends on your savings, lower interest on loans, and scads of free services. Afterwards, you'll exclaim WOO-HOO!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/11/08 10:28 p.m.

When Homer says "Woo hoo!" you know he's celebrating because he doesn't realize he's just done something incredibly stupid. I guess you could look at the WaMu slogan that way...

I second the praise of credit unions. Better interest rates coming AND going, thanks to a cooperative organizational model built to benefit the customers (internal shareholders) instead of external shareholders. No, I don't work for one, but it's where my account is.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 12:22 a.m.

If WM was looking for a slogan that would make them look stupid and out of touch, they've found it.

It's "woo hoo" or nothing, and somebody should point out to them that a "hoo hoo" (or now a "whoo hoo") is slang for female private parts these days. Is their slogan really intended to be "bank at the 'hoo hoo' bank?" My wife and I were having a great time with this until we realized these billboards were all over the place and not going away any time soon. Now we're just annoyed.

Posted by Ron Schott at 3/12/08 12:52 a.m.

Monica,

Great look at this campaign. I'm a WaMu customer and still, as a marketing pro myself, don't get what they're trying to do with this slogan. It's catchy... sure. I just don't equate getting a monthly statement in the mail with say, something that would make Homer, or anyone for that matter say "Woo hoo" (I'll spell it the real way).

Also, give my recent blog on my non-seattlepi.com blog about this a read. It's a bit more of a crass look at the topic, but somewhat entertaining.

Posted by stam at 3/12/08 5:08 a.m.

WaMu stock value has dropped about 75% over the last couple of years. The expression should be, "BOO HOO"

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 6:17 a.m.

woo hoo, our stock is in the can !!!! get me a donut and a Duff !!!

Posted by awbitf at 3/12/08 8:05 a.m.

WaMu will fail. It's just a matter of time. Killinger and his cronies will have millions of dollars given to them, and thousands of people in the Seattle area will be out of work with no similar benefits.

What exactly is "Whoo Hoo" celebrating? Their inept telephone banking staff or internet banking responders? This small bank is not what it once was, and it can't keep playing grownup forever.

Posted by jmcd74 at 3/12/08 8:41 a.m.

Horton Hears a Woo Hoo

Posted by dbostrom at 3/12/08 10:05 a.m.

Also puzzling is the "Come inside and rediscover the joy of banking" slogan now appearing on WaMu ATMs. "Joy of banking"? Since when has banking ever been joyful, and for that matter who actually wants bubbly effervescence to be part of the fiscal risk equation?

WaMu's marketing team needs to switch to half-caf or find some other way to calm down and think about what banking customers really want, because as it stands now they seem entirely detached from reality. "Joy"? No. "Whoo-hoo"? No. How about stodgy respectability, grim gravitas, or dedicated, quiet attention to duty and prudence? As opposed to, let's say, irrational exuberance and attendant manic over-valuation of mortgage portfolios?

Posted by Maggie2Uoffspring at 3/12/08 10:41 a.m.

Here's one better....
WAMU has had this billboard on Lake City Way for years. They may have wished to rethink placing this ad at this particular location...hahaha
http://tinyurl.com/36tl9j

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 10:55 a.m.

Is anyone else sick of The Simpsons yet?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 11:07 a.m.

From the WAMU marketing department: We've just raised our overdraft fees! We no longer give free use of our ATMs, even though we used to say, "Never have, never will"! We've just lowered the interest we pay on our savings account! Whoo hoo!

Posted by fletc3her at 3/12/08 11:15 a.m.

I would be more impressed by the slogan if I ever felt that way about the company. I used to think WaMu was a good company, but half a dozen bad customer service experiences later I am busy moving all my accounts to other banks. What I hate most is that they advertise these great features of their accounts, but only offer those features to new customers. We poor customers who have been with them for more than a decade are worth nothing to them. It is dispiriting to have to pay for checks when signs all over the bank tell me that they give them out for free, just not to me.

Posted by SEA-ATL at 3/12/08 11:22 a.m.

Fletc3her - if you ask for the new type of checking, they should be able to do that for you without changing your checking account number. If they won't - they are wrong. They don't want to do it, but if you ask for it, they should do it. I did it with mine.

Posted by Euterpe35 at 3/12/08 1:06 p.m.

the whole campaign smacks of desperation.

Posted by shangrilacottage at 3/12/08 2:02 p.m.

"who hoo" or "woo hoo," I don't care BUT I do care about WHERE I put my money! I always use a CREDIT UNION... free checking, free ATM fees, free travelers' checks, no deposits for a "safe deposit box" and the list goes on!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 7:24 p.m.

Whoo hoo to the company with horrible customer service. Guess that's what happens when you get rid of your American workers and hire people in Costa Rica and the Phillipines for two dollars an hour to answer your phones. Whoo hoo Wamu.
I will give credit to their Marketing department though, I kinda like the Whoo Hoo, Misspelled and all.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 7:27 p.m.

The real question is, how many marketing agencies can you fire in a five year period. Who's in charge of picking these ya_whoo_s?

Posted by unregistered user at 4/29/08 7:24 p.m.

"Whoo-hoo" would be the appropriate spelling. My job actually requires me to know that. A single "Whoo!" would be spelled like so, not "Woo!", which would suggest wooing someone, as in for love. "Whoo-hoo" should be hyphenated.