Opinion: Newland on ... NatWest.(National Westminster Bank PLC (London, England))

I opened my first bank account in the mid- to late 80s. It was at Lloyds (my parents had accounts there). Since then I have suffered a myriad of frustrations - too many to mention - that all boil down to the bank forgetting that I am a customer. I now bank with ... Lloyds.

A feeling that no high-street bank is better than another - better the devil you know - combined with an irrational fear of boring paperwork tends to prevent banking customers switching from one company to another.

This is why targeting young people is so important for banks. You can lock them in for life. NatWest believes this so strongly that it has commissioned M&C Saatchi to create an ad specifically for students, which will run in cinemas only.

Now, advertising to students is no easy matter - unless, perhaps, you are selling lager. They are cynical, over-confident and aware of what's cool and what's not. M&C Saatchi has chosen this characteristic as the basis of its strategy for this ad.

It casts Average Joe student walking along the road. His story is interspersed with scenes of grey-suited, geeky bank managers trying to be cool. One tries to moon walk but declares 'I can't really do it because of the static'.

Another grabs his crotch, rapper style, but it's because he needs the loo. They talk about mashing up ripping sounds, and so on.

They are trying to talk to young people in their own language but end up demonstrating their complete lack of understanding for young people in the process. This is epitomised in their offering of a free CD to students.