#259 Wa Me?

I received a direct mail piece from a bank the other day. I figured I’d better open it and then shred it, because they may have snuck in some blank checks. Turns out it’s an ad for something new Washington Mutual is offering, Free Checking. Gee, I’ve never seen banks offering free checking before (cough cough). I think I just got heavy metal poisoning from all that irony. But Washington Mutual has gone one better. They altered the name of their bank to give a name to their free checking. It’s now WaMu free checking. Say Wah?
Now perhaps Washington Mutual is just jumping on the new state tourism slogan in a craven attempt to exploit all the hard work, and thousands of hours of committee time, that led the State of Washington to decide on “Say Wa” as the slogan for their new tourism campaign. Better minds than mine have already decried and derided this choice—offering that “Say Wa” sounds like something seventies star Jimmy J. Walker might have shouted instead of DY-NO-Mite. Or a “boing” sort of exclamation a la Joanne Worley, or an 80s valley girl kind of “duh.” But apparently the State of Washington spent what little tourism dollars they had, tested their target audience, and finally agreed that “Say Wa” was the thing that resonated most with potential tourists to this fine land of ours. Proof of the maxim that the prognosis of all good ideas is death by committee. Apparently, the normal versatile modern syllable of acclaim, “dude,” was already taken. Too bad. I can certainly see some 30-something tourist standing up at Mt Rainier’s Paradise saying “dude” very meaningfully. Or perhaps looking out from Anacortes, Mt Baker in the background, eyes panning across the Sound to the San Juan Islands. “Dude” again. Or maybe facing into a gale off Westport, flying sand derma-brading the lesions of their California tan skin cancer, or staring across the baked and undulating Palouse, or beholding the awesome abilities of Man at the Grand Coulee Dam, or windsurfing through the mighty Columbia River Gorge. Dude Dude and DUDE. So, for me at least, “Say Dude” would be a lot better than the equivalent of “say duh,” excuse me “say wah.” But I wasn’t polled. Although I do feel like someone stuck something up somewhere.
So now Washington Mutual has come out with WaMu free checking. Is it just me or does WaMu sound like a killer whale? Something I would be likely to see at Seaworld. Or maybe the manufacturer of the Frisbee and the Hula Hoop. For some reason this name scares me. I don’t think I have the courage to walk into Washington Mutual and ask them to open me up a WaMu. I’d be afraid someone would give me a wedgie.
America, ya gotta love it.