I understand the rounded corners are deliberate to show the softer Monzo, but my gut reaction on seeing them is still to think âSomeone forgot to set the transparent background.â
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Yeah, it just doesnât look good to me. Looks like an advert they couldnât be bothered to get the right size when creating it, which isnât the kind of attitude Iâd want from a bank.
I know this isnât the intention, but it is how it comes across.
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My partner heard several Monzo ads featuring Alan Carr during an episode of his podcast. He was basically saying how great a card it is to use for travelling. I guess Iâm not in the target demographic as Iâve tried downloading the episode and I donât get the adsâŚ
Interesting that theyâve got multiple celebrities involved in the campaign.
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Couldâve just been complimenting it in general 
sure Iâve heard the folks on kiss a few times over the years talk about it.
Just have an open mind.
People can express an opinion without being paid for it.
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It was 100% an advert - it played a couple of times during the podcast and like I said, it wasnât present when I downloaded it which means it wasnât part of the main podcast itself. He also ended with the phrase âMoney never felt like Monzoâ.
Managed to get a clip:
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Ah fair enough, I thought you meant he just mentioned it during his podcast, but then also had the monzo adverts play otherwise.
While my instinct when presented with a celebrity promoting a brand is to think less of both the celebrity and the brand, I think Alan Carr is a particularly interesting choice here.
His whole schtick, it seems to me, is to come across as a bit of a dimwit. So pretty much the last person Iâd look to when choosing someone to promote a bank.
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Wouldnât advertising on so many channels at once make it hard to identify where to spend going forward?
Iâd be interested to see how they assess the performance of each marketing strategy.
I mean, how can they differentiate between someone signing up off the strength of radio adverts, to train station adverts, for example 
Is there a sign up question now along the lines of âHow did you hear about us?â 
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Is it intentional that only the Monzo one has white corners? Looks broken tbh
Am I the only one who isnât bothered by these rounded corners?
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I think itâs an overlooked detail but not âzOMG I donât trust them nowâ level, but to be expected tbh.
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I mean I donât think it ruins the ad, just a shame when they clearly put so much work in imo
To some degree, they might know when adverts are broadcast (radio, TV; day, time) and look to see if there has been any noticeable effect on sign-up data around those times. And for train station or other physical adverts, if thereâs been an effect geographically.
But to another degree, it doesnât matter. My understanding of a broad marketing campaign like this is not that theyâre looking for specific adverts to be effective. Rather, they want to get the brand inside peopleâs heads, so that they know it, and that youâll think of it first. Pepsi donât advertise because they think you donât know about their product, they know you do. They advertise because they want you to think âPepsiâ when you think âfizzy drinkâ. Same with Colgate/Sensodyne/Oral B and toothpaste, or Guinness and stout.
As I type this, I realise that the Monzo adverts are doing this quite literally - Money, Monzo. When you think of money, you think of Monzo. Thatâs the aim.
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Although, because of my slight fear of spiders, all I think is now is âMoney, Monzo, oh no, thatâs the advert with a spider on that guyâs head. Hide away from it!â 
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Thatâs not the same thing. Thatâs brand recognition, that completely pointless and time wasting complaint is on about something completely different.
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No-oneâs going to get very far with a complaint on that grounds. The advert may be catchy, it may be effective, but itâs not subliminal. The word âsubâ isnât hanging out for shits and giggles there. Monzoâs advert is very much uberliminal, as were.
(Also the whole deal with âsubliminal advertisingâ is complete horseshit and a marketing scam, itâs not a real and recognised phenomenom, but I probably shouldnât get into that now 
)
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All advertising wants you to remember them. Thatâs the point of it.
Derren Brown does subliminal things. Monzo do not.
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