Zeno's Bar & Grill

These great ads have been appearing in the NYT for a while now. Each is a tongue in cheek take on conventional marketing to women. Instead of trying to sell women on the idea of blowing all their cash on Manolos or wrinkle cream, they suggest something really hot: learning to manage their finances.

They’re part of an effort by Citicorp to woo women, specifically those with at least 100K in assets, according to one reprinted article on their site. Membership, however, is open to anyone. For $125 a year, you get access to information that includes e-mail updates, master classes on financial topics and where to get discounted rates on loans. Without actually trying it, it’s hard to say whether this is really all that helpful or just another marketing ploy. Our gut reaction is that similar information is available elsewhere for less.

It's a funny mix, because on the surface it seems like these ads are doing something really different, by encouraging women not to buy, buy, buy. On the other hand...they're just selling something else, and it's not entirely clear whether it's a good value or not.

--Melanie & Kelly