The MasterCard "Priceless" campaign has been going strong for nearly three years and has retained its cultural currency, thanks to a simple, universally accessible idea, executed with precision. The campaign, created by McCann-Erickson Worldwide, has been interpreted in 47 different countries, in several Internet parodies (of varying levels of ribaldry), on TV talk shows and by countless witty party guests.

MasterCard brought its ad business to McCann-Erickson in September of 1997, after a review of the account which was reported to be worth around $80 million. The payments company's ad assignment had previously resided with Ammirati Puris Lintas New York.

Says Elisa Romm, MasterCard VP North American Advertising, the review involved five agencies and over 40 different campaign ideas. After consumer testing, the creative contenders were whittled down to two and the Priceless idea emerged as the winner. "We picked the campaign that resonated with people," says Romm.

Since the inaugural ad, featuring a father and son bonding at a baseball game, the campaign has stretched its mile long legs and roamed into numerous areas of human endeavor and emotion, always delivering the heartfelt Priceless moment, and making material acquisition look nice. One of the most recent spots features a mature couple's travels through China and the tallying of their various expenses, the mere monetary consequence of which, of course, pales in significance next to the Priceless notion of "Crossing #6 off your life's to-do list." The spot was directed by Sebastien Grousset out of Propaganda. Another recent spot set in Monaco was helmed by Gerard De Thame.

Regarding the company's high profile broadcast presence, Romm acknowledges: "TV is the first place we spend." Romm says the campaign has been a huge success for the company, paying off in bottom line and less tangible ways. "The campaign has opened a lot of doors for us," says Romm.

MasterCard reported earlier this year that its products generated $727 billion in gross dollar volume in 1999 - a nearly 13% increase from the 1998 total of $651 billion. Its 1999 figures indicate that its worldwide credit purchase volume increased nearly 15% from the previous year to $491.1 billion. Worldwide purchasing on debit cards rose over 30% to top $64 billion.

But while selling people on buying in an All About The Benjamins age seems like shooting fish in a barrel, the card company has a wider range of challenges to deal with than getting you to part with your present and/or future wad. Forging and maintaining relationships with financial institutions is a prime concern for MasterCard or any payments player. The added corporate image value created in part by a solid ad campaign is a factor in helping to build those relationships, says Romm.

The whole payments category is growing in different directions and facing change induced by the Internet and wireless technology. The company has launched online initiatives, including customer email programs and "sports escapes" promos and is also responding to changing consumer habits with the launch of MasterCard e-wallet, a service designed to expedite online shopping. With e-wallet, users can enter and store their MasterCard credit card number and other information one time, and the information can then be entered with one click in any future online shopping forays. The initiative was heralded with a new commercial which aired during the recent Major League Baseball All-Star game. The "Internet Store" spot continues the Priceless theme and features a real-world simulation of the Internet. In mid-August, the company will launch another spot in support of monthly bill payment via the card. The spot is an animation/ live-action combo, with Frontier Pictures' Philip Lihou directing and London's Picasso Pictures providing the animation.

Attention to production values is part of delivering the brand's message, says Romm. Capturing the emotion inherent in the Priceless idea requires some competent execution. "You're playing off an emotion," says Romm. "You have to give it the right balance."

In all of MasterCard's efforts, Romm calls McCann-Erickson "a partner in every sense of the word." In addition to developing creative, Romm says the agency is invited to partake in all of MasterCard's business initiatives, including its ecommerce efforts.Romm says the agency facilitates the advertiser's global approach; and of course, the campaign travels exceedingly well. Based in Purchase, New York, MasterCard has a global marketing team and the brand has a presence in 210 countries. The original father-son ad has been reinterpreted for international markets, with cricket substituting for baseball in India, and with fishing as the bonding activity in Japan. Ads from around the world have also run in the US.

"The priceless idea transcends culture," says Romm. "You're tapping into something that is consistent globally."

WEB.FILES

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