MasterCard's 'Priceless' Campaign
I know this is a good campaign,
because every few months I have a client who wants to "borrow" it. And the
campaign does, indeed, seem to fit a wide variety of situations. In ad
lingo, the campaign has "legs."
If I remember correctly, the first commercials were fairly straightforward
and low key, but soon branched into humor, drama, pathos, and many other
emotions. This is the point – the campaign is rooted in emotion. It's no
easy task to tie a credit card so closely to emotion, and I have the
greatest respect for the creators, McCann-Erickson.
My personal favorite is the family riding the roller coaster at an amusement
park. The admission fee. The parking. The food. Seeing your Dad scream like
your little sister? Priceless. (This ad has striking production values too,
with slow motion video of the roller coaster ride backed by operatic music.)
But as good as the campaign is, I always advise my clients not to succumb to
the temptation to use it. It belongs to MasterCard. They have achieved that
greatest of rarities in advertising: a campain that people remember, enjoy,
and most importantly, associate with the advertiser who's paying for it.
No, the only ad ideas you can successfully steal are the bad ones. They may
be free, but they won't be priceless. |
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