We must reassure them taking a discourse of truth

Guillaume Pannaud, Chairman of TBWA Paris, is not the kind to embellishing things: "we are in a market constraints, not of desire." Buy a credit, it is not meaningful. And by selling this type of product, we know that we do not sell the dream step. "The conjurer for impecunious consumer"projects all its"low-cost, it is not his cup of tea. And still less that of Cetelem, number one in France and in Europe of the credit to individuals before Sofinco, for which the agency TBWA Corporate has to design a campaign on the theme of "responsible credit."

It works in two stages. It was all first the knowledge of the "Bingo credit", whose logo is decorated with small wings (presumably to better emphasize its angelic hand), while its signature Announces: "society which will revolutionize the credit." A few arguments sellers - "up to EUR 3 million cash", "The credit without any formality or warranty", "Money paid in ten seconds", "Immediate response"- designed as advertisements from the 1950s, complete complete the device which has insidiously, also pushing some ads designed by new entrants on the Internet, competition for credits to individuals, is growing.

As the first Visual of this campaign is supposed to embody the credit easy and immature, even the second, siglé Cetelem, advocated in contrast a "responsible credit", to be the new signing of the campaign. However, the little green man, playful and sympathetic to the credit agency, anthropomorphic figure was not relegated to oblivion. He is also invited to have a mature discourse to adult consumers: "credit should never look like it." "Prefer Cetelem responsible lending", he directed firmly.

No chance, any more than coincidence in the "timing" of this campaign, the amounts to approximately 15 million gross euros. Very conveniently, in fact, instigated occur in Bercy and the National Assembly stormy discussions on the reform of the credit to individuals (housing credit, consumer and automotive). The Senate passed the Bill last June. The National Assembly should discuss the text end of December and Christine Lagarde, Minister of finance and economy, hopes to do adopt early 2010.

Debt on the rise

A pious wish Is fear. At first sight, in effect, the consumer credit file appears anything but simple. Better, in the current context, it appears as a real bag of knots, where conflicting interests intersect. On the one hand, those of banks and companies such as La Redoute and the Swiss 3, 40 of the purchases are made with revolving credit cards. And, on the other, the concerns of consumers, such as UFC that select associations, who wish to avoid the number Crescent ( 17 since the beginning of the year) of the records of over-indebtedness (where revolving credit is present in 80 of cases), as excessive, often close to the rate of attrition rates.

In this context, organizations such as Cetelem are taken between the alarming figure of 800,000 debt-burdened households and the decline continues the new consumer credit (-15 according to data of the ASF, Association of financial companies, for the first three quarters 2009), associated with an increased risk for credit agencies. The solution Zigzag. Or, as in fact analysis Bertrand Cizeau, branding, communication and advertising at BNP Paribas Personal Finance Manager, change the message: "the French have low debt levels, are owners and rather hesitant, in contrast to the Anglo-Saxons.". We must reassure them taking a discourse of truth.

Comprehensive approach

A comprehensive process of Cetelem that it would be unfair to characterize as opportunistic since the credit agency began to take a realistic and responsible speech in 2004, with a new signature-"Cetelem is also known to say not in the interest of its customers"-, a journal, "Question of responsibility", the creation of a website in 2008 () accompanied by the publication of the rate of refusal (32) as well as the percentage of records repaid without incident of payment (94 in 2008). Finally, the Organization has launched the first information service commercial credit, accessible by phone and on the Internet.

The first wave of TBWA Corporate campaign is mainly declined in television, in prime time as well as daily press and magazine and on the Web. It should end the third week of October.