I must be missing something here... I can't even see what possible connection there is between the disco-fantasy scene and what's happening in the bank. So not only is it offensive, I can't even see what the joke is supposed to be. Is it that this bank is good for people who have random daydreams in the middle of conversations? Is it that they could only write 15 seconds of dialogue for the ad so they decided to just fill in some random crap? Or that people like this shouldn't be together, hence getting a checking account is as unlikely as a feat of strength?

Someone clue me in, please.

Will,

Everyone tends to respond differently to things based on their personal perspectives. As an advertising executive who has seen and produced a lot of work featuring and targeting minorities, I found this commercial to be stereotypical on many levels. Showing Blacks dancing in a disco is one major stereotype (WaMu is running other commercials without stereotypes. For example, one commercial shows an Asian-American woman in a bobsled or luge—no stereotypes in that fantasy.). The casting of a heavy-set Black female seems a little stereotypical too; plus, they even call out her size by pairing her with a small man. The over-the-top humor and bulging eyes are more images that might be deemed insensitive or even derogatory. But as I said in the beginning, we all respond according to our personal perspectives.