Brand: MasterCard
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here - this link is to Ad-Rag which requires a small fee to view ads
Target: MasterCard Cardholders
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David

Description:
We see a car carrier being driven through the desert by an average guy driving a slurpee. Then the voiceover begins, “12 brand new cars for you, your family and friends - zero dollars.” We see the average guy giving various friends and relatives new cars and their reactions (from bewilderment to tears). The voiceover continues, “How it feels to hand them the keys - Priceless. Use your MasterCard and you could win 12 brand new cars.”

What Works:
We review this spot to illustrate the multiple benefits of a strong campaign. The MasterCard, “Priceless” campaign is one of the longest-running, hardest-working campaigns on television today. MasterCard taps into a basic and seemingly non-commercial human sentiment - that it is not the things in our life but the people and the moments that have true value. MasterCard shows that the credit card is merely an enabler of human interaction - and in these spots the human interaction being enabled are almost always either extremely touching or hysterically funny moments.

MasterCard’s campaign is savvier than its near-twin brand VISA because it does not seek to compete with American Express and their neo-snob campaign of exclusivity. And it it not a big grab for market share - MasterCard correctly recognizes that most of the decision about whether a consumer will acquire a Visa or a MasterCard comes as a result of marketing by member banks. Instead, MasterCard uses this campaign to encourage cardholders to see MasterCard as the niftiest little tool since the diaper genie. From a brand positioning standpoint, MasterCard is the card that enables the great moments in life to happen. Instead of being ‘Everywhere you want to be,’ MasterCard savvily points out that you are already where you want to be - with friends and family - but could be having more fun.

The benefit of such an effective campaign is that it allows the advertiser to do more with less. This spot is an excellent example. In fifteen seconds, it not only reminds us of the core benefit of Mastercard, it perfectly sets up a loyalty promotion (a car sweepstakes). We understand the proposition of the sweepstakes and have a clear sense of the end benefit of winning - which is not ‘getting more stuff’ but the feeling of giving which lasts much longer.

The best sign of a great campaign is the feeling of pleasure it gives us when we recognize a new spot in the campaign - that “let’s see what those folks are doing this time,” anticipatory chuckle. Mastercard delivers this consistently.

What Doesn’t:
It’s hard to fault MasterCard for any of the basic choices in this spot, but it should be said that a very low percentage of automobiles are purchased with a credit card - so delivering cars as the goodies from the sweepstakes is not the obvious choice for MasterCard. As all of the cars pictured are GM as far as we could tell (and please remember that we’re an Advertising Blog and not car experts, but a Cadillac and a Saab stood out) perhaps there was a lucrative manufacturer tie-in with General Motors that reduced the cost of the promotion to MasterCard.

Branding Bottom Line:
MasterCard knocks Visa out of the ring and into the hands of a new agency.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2005 at 1:25 pm and is filed under MasterCard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.