News

New bank to bring back old ATM character

April 6, 2003

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The new Connecticut Bank and Trust Co. is bringing back a character called Barney that was used to popularize ATMs in the 1970s.

According to a report in the Hartford Courant, the Barney character, which had a small round face and bow tie, was once so recognizable in the state that any bank's ATM came to be known as a "Barney machine." 

Barney's bespectacled face will adorn the new bank's ATMs, as the new CBT hopes to capitalize on some of the nostalgia surrounding Barney.

According to the Courant, Barney the ATM was registered as a trademark in 1982 to the old CBT. The trademark expired last year, but hasn't been taken by anyone else. So, the new bank now will apply for it, said the bank's lawyer, Robert M. Taylor III, of Day, Berry & Howard in Hartford.

Organizers of the new CBT hope to open the bank in January, with branches in Hartford, West Hartford and Glastonbury. First, they must get approvals from the state banking commission and raise between $12 million and $18.5 million in a stock offering.

Barney hasn't been seen since 1992. A year earlier, the old CBT failed as part of the spectacular collapse of the Bank of New England Corp. The remains of the old CBT were purchased by Fleet Financial Group, which booted Barney.

CBT officials were inspired to create Barney in 1976 after hearing about an Atlanta bank that used a character called "Tillie the Teller" to boost ATM usage, according to the Courant.

With the help of an advertising agency, CBT came up with a list of names for a character of its own. "Ralph" was an early contender, but was rejected by James English, then CBT's chief executive.

It reminded English of the Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden character in "The Honeymooners" TV series, and he didn't believe people would trust such a figure with their money.

"Barney" finally was chosen because it was a pleasant sounding name and it conjured up the lead character on the then-popular sitcom, "Barney Miller."

One key to the marketing was using Barney's circular face as a head; the machine was drawn as the body, serving to further "humanize" the ATM. Legs were considered, but the idea was discarded.

Hank Hallas, who worked for the old CBT for 22 years and is now an accountant with the state judicial system, remembers the initial deployment of 15 Barney machines in the fall of 1976. "It took root immediately," he said.

Between 1980 and 1984, CBT invested about $7 million in the the project, installing new ATMs and using TV, radio and newspaper ads to push Barney.