Take the Money, But Be Careful When You Run.

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Author: Janoff, Barry

Tom can't catch a break as he tries to reach a live person from his credit card company who can answer his questions in spots from Citibank. Not only does he resemble Woody Allen in his pre-Soon-Yi Previn, Take the Money and Run hey-day, but he seems to be as big a nebbish. In "Train," Tom is on his cell phone as he dresses for his commute to work. "For English, say 'Yes,'" says an automated voice on the phone. "Yes," says Tom. He's now on a train platform as the voice says, "For security purposes, state your pet's name." "Fluffy," says Tom. We now see Tom on a crowded train as the voice requests, "Please say your password." Tom ultimately has to shout out, "BIG BOY!!" The adventure continues with Tom answering a series of "Yes" and "No" questions ("Do you want a shiny card?") until, finally, a real person gets on the line. But that's when Tom's train enters a tunnel and he's disconnected. In "Steak," Tom's cooking dinner while trying to reach someone from his credit card company via his wall phone. Here, too, he must follow an endless trail of instructions, which distracts him from his food, which starts to burn and fills the kitchen with smoke. For some reason, Tom won't hang up or switch to his cell phone, so the situation escalates until a fire starts. Both spots tout Citibank's "Simplicity" perk: Just press "O" to talk to a person. As Woody Allen said, "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."

Product: Credit cards

Marketer: Citibank, New York

Agency: Fallon, Minneapolis

Market: National Key players:

Fallon: Paul Silburn, executive creative director; Steve Driggs, group creative director; Tim Gillingham, copywriter; Steve Sage, art director

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By Barry Janoff