PushPins Put Capital One on the Map

I’ve not been a fan of Capital One’s ads, especially those for its credit cards. It’s latest commercial, this one for its many ATM locations in New York and New Jersey, raised eyebrows. The spot involves buddies looking at a mapping site that pops up pushpins to note ATM locations. Then, giant pushpins falling from the sky and wreaking havoc, including one just outside the restaurant where they sit. (See a graphic, a link to the video and how they did it at Post Magazine.)

A reader of Stuart Elliot’s advertising column in the New York Times found the destruction of New York City appalling and Elliot notes that the destruction was actually minimized during the spot’s development.

It’s a good thing everyone has come to expect pushpin as the de facto symbol for a point location. Quick - which online mapping site uses pushpins? Not that “G” one… By the way Capital One’s locator uses MapQuest, which does not implement pushpins!