Every time I see these Tina Fey commercials for American Express, I don’t view them as an expression of how great the credit card is, but rather as a reminder that Fey is a multi-millionaire.
In one, she goes into a sporting goods store and buys all sorts of workout equipment — weights, a yoga mat, silly toe-shoes — in such volume that it takes four employees to carry her bags out to a waiting cab. In another, she’s on an airplane when a stewardess tells her they’re out of salad because the guy across the aisle got the last one, so Fey bribes him by paying for his in-flight movie with her credit card. Elsewhere in the series of commercials, Fey buys a bunch of stuff at a supermarket for her dog with an I-can-do-anything-because-I’m-famous attitude.
None of these spots prove anything special about the American Express card she’s shilling for. You could purchase all of the same stuff Fey buys with a Visa or Mastercard — if you had the money.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Tina Fey fan (I was one of the few reviewers to heap praise on her movie “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” last year) but I think she’s giving off the wrong image in these spots. She comes off as a spendthrift who has so much money she doesn’t care how much she charges.
Does that resonate with her fans, who no doubt have lower credit limits? I doubt it. Or maybe the average American’s complete naiveté about financial matters, including credit cards and interest rates, is irrelevant when someone as likable as Tina Fey is involved.