To show its support for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Australia’s ANZ Bank teamed up with TBWA/Whybin Melbourne to turn its ATMs into ‘GAYTMs’.
The bank commissioned artists to decorate 10 ATMs around Sydney, decking them out in fabulously colorful designs that feature lips, same-sex couples kissing and leopard prints. They even reconfigured the ‘GAYTMs’ to dispense rainbow-colored receipts with messages like “Cash out and proud”.
In addition, ANZ Bank will donate ATM operator fees from cardholders of other banks to Twenty10, a non-profit organization that provides support to youths and adults of all genders and sexualities.
However, the bank has received criticism from individuals and religious organizations who felt the stunt was stereotypical and that it was leveraging on civil rights issues to earn profits.
In response, Mark Hand, Chair of ANZ Australia’s Diversity Council, told News.com.au, “We create a customer base that represents a diverse constituency. If you want to be a big, successful company in Australia there’s no way you can be as successful as you want to be if you pushed 10 percent of the population aside. That to me just doesn’t make any sense, we have to make sure that we do things that appeal to every section of society.”
What do you think of ANZ Bank’s stunt?
[via Creativity Online and News.com.au]