During his time consulting to the Greater Building Society, John devised a campaign which loosely mirrored the arrogant “Basil Faulty” character from TV’s Faulty Towers.

In other words, ads would feature a nasty Bank Manager who didn’t really care about customers (as a clear comparison to the Greater’s HUGE focus on “customer service”).

Whilst an actor was selected for the TV ad role, he took ill on the eve of the shoot.

So at the 11th hour, the Greater’s senior management asked John to step in – as they figured HE was “nasty enough” to fill the role!!

With customer satisfaction levels with the big banks being at a low level, this was an optimistic campaign to really strongly distinguish the “high service and no fees benefits” of being a customer of the Greater, versus the “poor service and heavy fees environment” of the banks.

The campaign featured the nasty Bank Manager (played by John) treating customers with disrespect, particularly when they had the audacity to ask for the same service and benefits they could receive at the Greater!

John’s client (the Greater) believed he had a natural ability to play “a nasty character!” (With tongue firmly planted in cheek of course!)

The campaign was a big success – & John understandably copped some sarcastic remarks from “people in the street” throughout the campaign!