Seinfeld Pal Gets Role In Sterling Ads Actor Jerry Stiller Featured In Radio, TV Commercials

Would you bank with the Costanza family, the dysfunctional television tribe of “Seinfeld” fame?

Of course you wouldn’t, and that’s why Sterling Savings Bank’s newest radio and television ads feature Jerry Stiller, who plays Frank Costanza on the top-rated comedy.

Frank and son George, Jerry Seinfeld’s feckless sidekick, share a propensity toward hysteria and stubborn attachment to dated, half-baked ideas.

Take sky-blue leisure suits, for example.

In the TV ad, Stiller waxes eloquent about the fashion pluses of double-knit fiber while an announcer overdubs the merits of 10-point checking from Sterling.

For $8.50 per month, customers earn interest on their account balance, and get custom checks and life insurance.

“You get what you pay for,” concludes the ad.

John Baechler, vice president for the Hanna & Associates Inc. advertising firm, said the spot is an irreverent riposte to Washington Mutual Bank, which spends millions promoting its free checking accounts.

“You can’t afford to be subtle,” he said. “So we hired the funniest, most unsubtle guy we could think of.”

Baechler said the ads are a departure for Sterling, which has relied more on spots creating a hometown image than on product-oriented promotions.

Hanna created both campaigns.

“We’ve always tried to have a little humor,” noted Sterling Senior Vice President Heidi Stanley.

Using Stiller, whose credits include Broadway and Hollywood as well as TV, sharpens the focus, she said, adding, “We’ve caught the customers’ attention.”

Baechler said the radio spot is already running in communities all over the Northwest served by Sterling. The television spot is airing around Puget Sound and a few other selected markets.

The Hamilton film Co., under the direction of Don Hamilton, did the television production. Radio was produced by The Production Group Sound Design.

, DataTimes