MJ Bale teams with Heritage Bank + Visa to unveil the first wearable credit card via Whybins Sydney
In a wearable technology first by Whybin\TBWA Sydney and Eleven PR, tailor M.J. Bale has partnered with Heritage Bank and Visa, to create a suit with a contactless payment chip and antenna fused into the sleeve, giving men the ability to pay for anything with the effortless swagger of a celebrity, tycoon or double agent.
The M.J. Bale Power Suit allows men to pay “invisibly” with just a wave of their sleeve in bars, restaurants, or anywhere Visa payWave is accepted. The contactless technology embedded in the suit is linked to an online Heritage Bank Prepaid account, allowing the wearer to check the balance and top up their suit on-the-go.
The prototype suit is made from 100% Superfine Australian Merino Wool and has a stylish cut overseen by master Japanese tailor, Kenichi Kaneko. The elegant design means it is wearable technology…that a gentleman would actually wear.
Says Dave Bowman, executive creative director Whybin\TBWA Group Sydney: “Have you ever seen Bono, Obama or Bond pay for anything with a wallet? No. There’s a reason for that. The most powerful men in the world don’t need to carry a wallet. And now, thanks to Heritage Bank and Visa nor does anyone with an M.J.Bale power suit.”
A number of these suits have been exclusively fitted for trial by VIP M.J.Bale customers and influencers. However one of these suits will be sold in the M.J. Bale, Westfield Sydney store and another auctioned online by Heritage bank, with all proceeds going to the charity 4 ASD Kids, which supports children with autism spectrum disorders.
To place a bid on the suit please go to heritagebank.com.au/powersuit.
24 Comments
The world’s first “wearable” tech pun.
I fu*king want one. Now!!
Ah, I see Cannes is almost here.
Simple and brilliant – cannestastic
Great example of technology coming before any skerrick of an idea.
Maybe a bit more effort into real client and they might have kept NRMA. Still even i have to admit when it comes to doing scams that do little to build business they are the kings.
Cufflinks.
Gold gold gold grand prix.
Night out on the town jfk style – no cash, cards or anything in pockets to ruin the line of your suit.
Fuck yes.
I think this is totally legit and so does my wife.
mobile medic, fundawear, this.
Wow. Such idea. Many lions. Would buy.
How long before the ad industry recognize that this sort of work is no more than a modern day version of the scam poster for a mate’s fish and chip shop or dry cleaners. Except in this case it’s a mate’s suit retailer. It wasn’t that many years ago when people were losing their jobs for this sort of shameless scam work. And just because the clients in on it, doesn’t change the fact it’s cheating.
This is far better than mobile medic and fundawear… Scam or not. Previous mj bake was scammy as all heck too, but still a great idea.
Give it a bronze for the idea, but not a silver or gold for the results.
I’m with Gandhi, why do we continue to praise this type of work, it has little to do with advertising and the sooner juries start seeing through these scummy ideas the better.If you want to see what Bale really wants, look at their recent poster campaign, no idea, just good looking guys dressed immaculately in their suits…but i’m sure those dull posters did a heck of a lot more for their business than this work.
You can’t build a brand on a PR strategy?
Why not? Because it feels ‘scammy’?
This has already been on the news, morning television, tech and fashion blogs, etc.
It does have an impact for the brand. A brand with little money for media, so we have to create it for them.
You can call it ‘scam’ all you want but it is actually an idea tailored to generate pr – all of the MJ ideas have been.
If that feels like ‘scam’ then there is an entire industry that employs real people doing this as a living that is a ‘scam’.
Maybe we should rename ourselves from a PR company to ‘scam’ company?
If this smells of scam, that’s because it is.
Yes, it’s wearable tech and that’s what’s trending at the moment. But this doesn’t solve a business problem. If Visa want to prove their chip can go in anything then put it in jewellery, incorporate it in SIM cards or stick it on a petrol bowser to pay as you pump.
All this is is a suit with the security tag left on it and rather than setting off alarms when you walk out the door it debits your account. Not going to win anything shiny.
the power suit will punch beyond its media weight.
it is not scam. people will notice.
and it makes paywave look as easy as it really is…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YufMJyFFz-g&list=UUZyo20JIwo-O-Tj5whUInzQ
wow! you’ve just invented PayWave! amazing. hope you win awards for inventing paywave.
It’s a card. A card you can carry anywhere. But instead of swiping it, you can wave it nonchalantly with a dismissive flick of the wrist – without even touching the scanner. Masking tape the card to the inside of your sleeve if you want. But what’s this card made from? It’s made from plastic, a special plastic that embeds the microchip.
MJ Bale has one of Australia’s largest marketing budgets.
Yes, doing a park bench or a coloured in fountain back in the day was scam because bugger all people saw it. If this idea was done in 2001 and one dude walked round the city with an MJ sign on his back, swiping things with his sleeve that 10 people saw, that would be scam.
But times have changed. Now you can release one suit, one powerful arm, one camera stuck to a girl’s jeans and if it’s a good idea 50 blogs/news sites pick it up and every bastard sees it.
That’s not scam. That’s getting far more bang for buck than 20 billboards throughout the city. And this deserves all the attention it gets.
Very clever concept. Focusing on cuff link size scam ads, while ignoring and losing focus on multi-million dollar real clients like NRMA. Hence losing our business.
The client lost the business for themselves.
They wrote the last ads and then they needed someone to blame.
When you hire an ex ECD as a marketer funny things tend to happen.
And as someone who still works at Whybins, the place is better for it.
The clients are happy when they get to go home at 5 like everyone else in the building.
They don’t care. Not really. As long as nothing stands out and everything ticks along.
It’s not a prised account in my creative brain. Maybe prized for the money.
But that doesn’t trickle down to people like me.
Sorry guys but it has to be real and made to be in Cannes.
Today in the Australian newspaper the boss of MJ Bale is happily saying it is only a prototype and not on Market yet. If you can’t buy it, it’s not in production, it’s not real!!
For the sake of all those who actually make there work and find consumer to buy it, i really hope this doesn’t become our industries newest trophy hunting at all cost embarrassment.
http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/-371xp.html