HJ,
with inflation at around 5% and negative growth, one would be better off getting value for his money now by spend, spend, spend. Now might be a good time to get the new GM motor vehicle you always wanted, or maybe a new home in a suburb full of vacated/repossessed homes. In reality, the cynical view might be that it was actually those who saved their money who are responsible for the current crisis, as it was those savings that the banks of the world lent to those who were unable to pay off a home loan, but still received the credit. If we did not save then no money to fund the credit-based trouble we are in now.
In so far as your bank literature, maybe a video of Dante's Inferno would be included.