
There are many, many problems with social media but we rarely talk about major brands trying to act like normal people and using memes.
Whilst it's all well and good for regular Joes to use memes when a brand or company use them it can often miss the point and feel quite condescending.
This was exactly what happened when the American bank Chase decided to use a popular meme format to talk about customers with low account balances.
On Monday the bank tweeted and soon deleted a post which read as this:
You: why is my balance so low
Bank account: make coffee at home
Bank account: eat the food that's already in the fridge
Bank account: you don't need a cab, it's only three blocks
You: I guess we'll never know
Bank account: seriously?
Before it was removed the tweet was picked up by Yahoo Finance's managing editor, Colin Campbell and was soon shared around Twitter, with many, including presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, calling out the bank for making fun of some customers who might be struggling financially.
.@Chase: why aren’t customers saving money? Taxpayers: we lost our jobs/homes/savings but gave you a $25b bailout W… https://t.co/wyRlXaFev8— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1556568089
You, chase bank: why does everyone hate us Me: antagonizing people isn't an effective strategy Me: you're not hip o… https://t.co/VrXLqpvJHd— Clunk (@Clunk) 1556562416
chase: why don't people like banks people: puntitive fees bleed the poor people: foreclosure is the cutting edge o… https://t.co/RBrpJBFdRb— Bobby Lewis (@Bobby Lewis) 1556564223
Hey @Chase, try paying your workers more. Families aren’t spending frivolously; they’re trying to pay rent. https://t.co/XwQi2GisU5— Rep. Katie Porter (@Rep. Katie Porter) 1556567367
Others took aim at Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, who reportedly has a salary of $31 million and was recently questioned by the House Financial Services Committee about the wages of low-level employees working in his banks.
And while Chase is out here tweeting about financial responsibility, Rep. Katie Porter stumped Jamie Dimon a few we… https://t.co/i1LjmbyBlX— Matt Fuller (@Matt Fuller) 1556564131
Speaking of Chase, here's @AOC holding Jamie Dimon's feet to the fire: I represent kids that go to jail for jumpin… https://t.co/mKwOb7oQDj— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1556578790
Mr. Dimon, you couldn’t figure out how to balance an example JPMC teller budget but said you’d “think about” how on… https://t.co/gtXwUlTbQw— Rep. Katie Porter (@Rep. Katie Porter) 1556567943
However, not everyone thought the tweet was completely tone-deaf and some felt that they have a right to advise people on spending habits and budgeting.
Chase was right, it was a good tweet, and the people who were offended probably saw themselves in it. https://t.co/wszo0kqX5c— Tom Nichols (@Tom Nichols) 1556564529