4 Legs Good – 2 Legs Bad
There are still some banks with an untarnished reputation as the first quarter of 2009 rolls out. Forget UBS, AIG and Citi and think piggy. Just like the home vegetable garden and deciding to keep that used car, piggy banks are making a comeback as the world’s financial woes continue.
The trusted financial tool of generations of children the world over, piggy banks are being re-considered by millions as a savings tool. Portable, stashable, and eminently amenable to withdrawal 24-7, piggy banks are fashionable again. Don’t trust those bonus-focused big bankers. Trust your pig!
New Breeds and Advanced Genetics
As our pecuniary challenges continue grow, some visionaries arise, They are driven to create personal wealth for themselves and others with a methodology that incorporates art, engineering and design. In this age of suspicion, can anyone convince folks to spend money in order to save money? Perhaps, but only if you can improve on such a simple reliable receptacle for collecting bills and loose change as the piggy bank:
Laugh and Learn Piggy Bank from http://www.fisher-price.com/
Just as the Pre-Raphaelites desired a move back to the beauty and simplicity of the Medieval world in their art, you can educate your child in saving money with a move back to a basic yet contemporary piggy bank.
This toy concedes to materialism only because you must first buy it, and only concedes to technology through safety and educational concerns.
The Copilcus Piggy Bank from www.artlebedev.com/
Here is a white ceramic modern piggy bank. The simple addition of the plus sign in lieu of the usual slot adds a whole new meaning and look to this classic form.
This piggy bank is a clear reminder that “plus” savings are far better than “minus” savings.
Pig E Bank from www.vat19.com/
Ka-ching. The money goes into this piggy bank and the bank keeps track of how much is stored inside via an external digital readout. And this porker talks whenever you put money into it. Available in pink or purple or chrome, which is perhaps the new pink.
Pig E Bank also accepts paper bills, but does not count them; probably because bills are inserted in a special slot under the… tail(?).
Posh Pig Piggy Bank from www.budproduct.com/
Feeling the need to start stashing your cash somewhere nice, maybe even somewhere posh? These Posh Piggy Banks are collectibles with a smooth vinyl exterior, all decorated in different motifs and finished with a slit at the top and bottom stopper.
The Posh Pig may be just the place to store all your laundry coins or amusement tokens, but sorry, Plinko chips won’t fit, and yes, “collectibles” in the paragraph above is a pun.
Hungry Porkers Proliferate
Piggy banks have always been a simple personal finance application. Clickity-clank and you’ve stashed your cash. Pop-out or half-twist the bottom plug or rap the pig with a hammer and your cash is in your hand again.
Now, banking institutions want to re-claim a portion of that position in our lives that has been held by the trusted piggy bank. Pig imagery is being utilized by banking institutions more than ever before in order to re-build their reputations as worthy of our trust.
In a clear play to our subliminal childhood association of piggy banks and safe money, the grown-up financial institutions are resurrecting piggy bank symbols in every outlet of customer interaction. Look for them in mail solicitations, at bank web sites, on ATM screens and perched at teller counters where you bank. Overt or subliminal, pigs are there.
The hope seems to be to encourage customers to think about the trust, dependability and easy access of their childhood piggy banks; then translate that into customer interest, acceptance and trust in adult savings institutions.
I actually still have confidence in the banking institutions I use most, but my diligence is heightened and I’m watching those institutions closer than I ever have before.
Sure, I feel that they are still working hard for themselves and their investors, but my “piggy” banking institutions have saddles and I’m along for the ride with a firm but easily loosened grip.
Even when the the container you keep your money in is a can, cup, pot or dresser drawer, we still often call it a “piggy bank,” right? Lets all pay more attention where we bank, save and borrow; and lets hope we don’t need to resort to hammers.
