Fast cars and...your finances?

Stability. Solid. Customer centricity.

Just some of the core attributes a high street bank would probably want to portray to its customers, right?

Risk taker. Adrenaline seeker. British champions.

Perhaps three attributes not quite so timely for banking institutions. Especially one so unmistakably non-British (that shall remain nameless...)

Why then, has the largest bank in Europe recently announced its plans to ramp up the prominence of its two UK 'brand ambassadors', Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton?

Now I can completely understand the reasoning behind this kind of high profile celebrity endorsement. They can be beneficial by:

-  proving a useful way of communicating some sense of a brand's value and personality, by drawing upon the general public perception of said individual.

-  closer aligning a brand with its consumers through an individual that people admire, respect or aspire to.

-  leveraging the highly visible nature of an individual to reach a wider audience.

I can clearly see the link between the sport of Formula One and the financial industry. Both are intricately scientific and complex. Both are highly volatile and operate at speed.

In this case though, it just feels wrong. Post financial crisis, associating your consumer facing financial services brand with a sport where the tiniest error can have hugely destructive consequences; or where speed, risk-taking and aggression are rewarded, just seems poorly thought out. More than this though, it's the association with the drivers themselves - these adrenaline junkies that crave the high-risk excitement - that hits a nerve with me.

Banks need to do a serious job in re-establishing a relationship with consumers that is based on trust. They need to show that they are solid, stable and customer focused. Consumers are more savvy about the financial world. They're more wary of overt displays of financial risk-taking and more willing to shop around for the best products and rates.

Investing such vast sums of their marketing budget on high profile Formula One faces doesn't seem particularly smart to me.