MCLEAN, VA—Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars in branding and promotion each year, no one at Capital One Financial Corporation can precisely recall why its ads center around a merry group of cost-conscious Vikings, sources reported Thursday. “I know there was some sort of connection between Vikings and credit cards at some point, but I honestly don’t remember what it was—something about raiding your credit card bill or something?” said the bank’s vice president of marketing, Dave Erlenmeyer, echoing the thoughts of everyone within the company. “Or maybe it’s because our fees are so low it’s just like pillaging? I honestly have no idea. All I know is every time we do a commercial now it has to have Vikings in it.” According to focus group data, TV viewers had been under the impression that the commercials were previews for an upcoming Viking-themed sitcom entitled Capital One: What’s In Your Wallet?.