Visa is making much of its new tagline. It has removed the word 'It's' from 'It’s everywhere you want to be', that was used from 1985 to 2006 and dumped 'More people go with Visa', that ran from 2009 until now.
Why?
Let’s be frank. It may have something to do with BBDO’s winning back the lead creative duties in September 2012 after it had lost the account in 2005.
But that’s not the official version. The official version comes from Antonio Lucio, chief brand officer at Visa in Foster City, California. He stated that under a new chief executive, Charles W. Scharf, Visa has been re-evaluating where it stands as a company and has identified “areas where we need to do better” like “getting faster to the market with customer-relevant innovation.”
Scharf reported that Visa intends to become the best way for people to pay everywhere, with "'everywhere' relating to your state of mind, things that are important to you." And the best way to be paid, everywhere, as well.
The new theme does not represent a reset or a restart, according to Andrew Robertson, president and chief executive at BBDO Worldwide in New York. It’s more about the beginning of how “Visa helps enable you to do things you want to do.”
Simple ideas can have such complex rationales.
The new tagline is being launched in the first global campaign for 2014 (and first major Visa work from BBDO NY since 2005) that uses the Winter Olympics in Sochi as its springboard. The launch commercial went to air on American television on January 11th, and will appear in other countries in coming months. In addition to commercials, the campaign includes print, outdoor.
The reflective film of Sarah Hendrickson in preparation is underscored by her voice, “This year, women’s ski jumping is an Olympic event. Now, women get a chance to fly. I’m Sarah Hendrickson, and this is my everywhere.” Behind it, a 1937 speech by Amelia Earhart about why the legendary aviator wants to fly, becomes the commercial’s emotional backdrop.
Visa spends more than US$500 million each year on worldwide advertising. In the United States, spending in the first nine months of last year totalled US$87.8 million and spending for 2012 totalled US$166.6 million [WPP’s Kantar Media]
In addition to the commercial with Hendrickson, the campaign extensions also focus on the coming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Visa has been a worldwide Olympic sponsor since 1986 and is being challenge somewhat by problems related to issues like security and discrimination that threaten to diminish the value of the Winter Games as a marketing tool.
Creative credits:
Agency: BBDO New York
Worldwide chief creative officer: David Lubars
Chief creative officer: Greg Hahn
Director: Michael Spiccia
Production company: Arts & Sciences
VFX: The Mill
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