How to correctly set and use a bullet list in a Powerpoint template?

I'm currently trying to prepare a slide master for a set of presentations. In the Slide Master, I defined a multi-level bullet list with custom formatting/spacing (for both, Slide Master and the "Title and Content" layout) to look like this:

However, when I then insert a new slide with content, the format from the template is not applied (while the First level string is used):

(Note the round bullet vs. the square bullet above.)

Even worse, when I use Tab or Alt-Shift-Left/Right arrow, the format is completely screwed up:

So, my question is: how can I prepare a template/slide master in a way, that I can really use the predefined multi-level bullet style?

Sidenote: I'm using Powerpoint 2010, but have the issue since PPT 2003. I saw it working in corporate templates.

Solution 1:

Seems like the template I was working with was slightly corrupt. When (in the master view) I deleted the "Content" textbox that I formatted - and reinserted it (clicking Master Layout and checking Text), the new textbox showed the messed-up formatting that was used as a default. Once I changed this again back to the format I wanted, everything works as expected...