Firstbank: Free Pizza

Credits & Description:

To promote free checking, TVcâs (plus online/OOH/print) begin by acknowledging consumer distrust of âfree.â Then restore that faith with a suite of undeniably, unasteriskably, un-with-purchase-ably free giveaways.

The television commercials, one :30 and three :15s, show big-ticket housewares (couch, flat-screen, vacuum cleaner) left out on the street, marked âfree.â Passers-by poke, prod, frown at and pass up the goods, while a V.O. muses, âHave you ever noticed how skeptical people are of âfreeâ? As if the word âfreeâ automatically means something must be wrong? Well, what if âfreeâ really just meant free?â Supered text reads, âRestore your faith in free,â and V.O. ends, âGet mobile banking, alerts, and great customer service. And get it free.â Additional, pared-down support advertising, headlined âFree Happensâ and running online and in OOHâand print, just shows people looking drop-jaw stunned.

The payoff, so to speak, is the five surprise, experiential give-aways: 500 delivery pizzas, in boxes labeled âEnjoy this free sample of freeâ; 1500 food truck meals alongside signage reading: âThere is such a thing as a free lunchâ; pedicab rides to and from baseball gamesâdrivers wearing âFree Happensâât-shirts; at outdoor free movie nights, an announcer appearing, first on-screen, then live on-stage, to give away a free Kindle Fire HD; and complimentary âFree Happensâ recharging stations at Denver International Airport.

The campaign targets a broad, young (18 â 34) audience, mirroring free checkingâs greatest appeal. TVâruns on broadcast and cable channels such as ESPN, MTV, AMC. Giveaway categories/venues (delivery pizza, food truck, baseball game, outdoor concert) skew young.

Category: Finance & insurance

Client: FirstBank

Agency: TDA_Boulder

Production: HSI

Country: United States of America

Director: Ryan Ebner

Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Schoenberg

Creative Director: Jeremy Seibold

Art Director: Austin O’Connor

Copywriter: tim kelly

Producer: Patty Paz

Producer: Craig Repass

Executive Producer: Michael McQuhae

Sound Studio: Lime Studios

Sound Design: Dave Wagg

Visual Effects: Nave

DoP: Igor Jadue-Lillo

Agency Producer: Susan Fisher

Post production: Cosmo Street

Editor: Katz

Photographer: Jamie Kripke

Designer: Evan Parsons

Assistant Editor: Zoe Mougin

Color Correct: Company 3

Telecine Operator: Mike Pethel