ABSTRACT
The precise formulation of the proverb "Money Makes the World Go Round" is found in the lyrics of the song 'Money' from the musical Cabaret. This chapter considers the composition of and the messages conveyed by the HSBC Points of View campaign. It shows that the advertisements are complex semiotic constructs that can be read in a number of ways. While their prima facie message appears to be reasonably transparent, the chapter suggests that there is something else worth paying attention to: what HSBC mean by 'values' and 'value'. An examination of the values communicated in the campaign and what the HSBC advertisements enregister shows that 'value' is a polysemous and protean concept. The chapter discusses a recent advertisement from the UK bank NatWest, and then considers the question of what literally makes the world go round before discussing a music video, 'No Money' by Galantis.
