Pervasive distrust in big corporations

Does our economic situation have you infuriated with corporate America? Do you feel like the jerks on Wall Street and the incompetents in Detroit almost destroyed this country's financial system to line their own pockets? Do you trust big banks to have your best interests in mind?

If you answered "yes, yes, no," to the above, you're not alone.

The impending financial doom this country faced a year ago had a tremendous impact on consumer confidence in America, but even greater damage was done to consumer trust. News reports have created a mass perception of banks hoarding bailout money provided to loosen credit markets in order to boost profits and fund exorbitant executive compensation packages. Despite the hope and good faith many Americans have in our new president (myself included), our government appears incompetent at best, complicit at worst.

This has propelled pervasive distrust to megatrend levels.

The impact of this is not limited to financial institutions and automakers. According to Interbrand's annual assessment of the top 100 global brands, the list's total value fell by 4.6 percent in the past year. While brand valuation is a murky science, those are not good numbers.

Yet, in adversity lies opportunity. As distrust reaches near universal proportions, a brand story based on trust can be a powerful weapon.

The brand that gets it: Ally Bank
Tired of being screwed? Now, you've got an ally. Ally Bank.

"Who?" you ask.

You know how Prince became The Artist Formerly Known as Prince?

Meet your new Ally. The Bank Formerly Known as GMAC.

The duplicity of a giant U.S. bank combined with the ineptitude of a giant U.S. car company. I'd vomit if only this wasn't such a well-crafted brand. Here's the brand's elevator pitch (verbatim from its website):

"We are Ally Bank, built on the foundation of GMAC Financial Services. And with that experience we've learned that these times demand change and a new way of doing business. So we're taking banking in a new direction.

That means talking straight, doing right and being obviously better for our customers."

The tag line for the campaign is simply, "Straightforward."

TV spots show a little girl get shafted by a banker-type guy who didn't tell her she could have had a real pony instead of a toy. "Even kids know it's wrong to hold out on somebody. Why don't banks?" the voiceover asks. Good question.

This straightforward, human tone seems to emanate from every pore of this brand. Copy on the website assures potential customers, "We won't deal in half-truths, kindatruths, or truths only buried in fine print."

Even the brand color, purple, screams, "We're not like the other guys."

It remains to be seen whether past associations can be overlooked, but my suspicion is that Ally Bank's actions will speak louder than its words over the coming years. If it really embraces the values it espouses in the way it does business, people will talk about it, and Ally will become a powerful brand. If the brand doesn't, people will talk about that too.