First Republic Bank just opened a new branch a block from my house. I was kinda bummed, because I was hoping the lot would become something cool like a Starbucks or a McDonald’s.
Anyway, First Republic has the ad you see above, and some other eerily similar ones, in the window. All the ads use such banal stock photography they never made much of an impression on me, despite passing them every single day.
They never made much of an impression, until yesterday that is! Which is when I passed the Bank of America less than two blocks from them and saw they had just put a new ad that was very eerily similar in their window:

That’s the same lady! Right? Am I right? Yeah, it is! Definitely. Right?
Ha, anyway, I thought that was kinda funny. I mean, geez, B of A, couldn’t you at least check the bank closest to you before picking from the stock gallery?!
The Web Hosting Angle
Now, I shouldn’t be one to bash stock photography… the whole concept is very much alive and well in the entire Web Hosting industry. Still I’ve never come across two hosts with exactly the same “employee” on their front page!
I know sub-prime lending is a mess right now, but come on, bankers!
Speaking of Web Hosting stock photography, I’ve decided to end this post with a little collection of some of my favorite Web Hosting stock photo hotties, each one linked to some actual people employed at the various companies…
MidPhase

(What, nobody wanted to cough up for the “in-focus” version?)
BlueHost/HostMonster

(Isn’t that the same laptop they have on all the desks at IKEA?)
FastHosts

(AIEE! How does she hold that paper without any finger tips?!)
Verio

(That’s some shiny floor they’ve got at Verio!)
1 and 1

(Hummuna hummuna hummuna…!)
DreamHost

(We try our best to make sure nobody ever uses the same stock art as us!)