Interac has launched a new brand platform and campaign, “Be in the Black.”
The platform extols the benefits of using your own money for everyday purchases instead of paying with credit cards (a behaviour encouraged by brands such as Visa in recent years)
“Canadians are debt-laden and they’re becoming more and more fragile and susceptible to economic shock,” said Rob Feightner, group account director at Zulu Alpha Kilo, agency of record for Interac Association. “The call to action behind ‘Be in the Black’ is we want Canadians to take back control of their money and their financial destiny. There is a role Interac can play in that and we’re part of the solution.”
In the first national campaign under the new platform, a TV spot demonstrates how good it feels to pay with your own money. Set to AC/DC’s iconic song “Back in Black,” the ad shows that Interac users feel amazing—almost like rock stars—when paying with their own money.
“With the first campaign, we’re trying to bring the swagger back to the notion of using your own money,” said Ron Smrczek, executive creative director at Zulu. “There was a time years ago, when using credit was frowned upon. And now it seems like it’s an everyday occurrence, to use it to buy simple everyday things because we’re collecting points.”
“But [the purchases] can accumulate over time and get people into trouble, and no one likes to pay interest on top of purchases they’ve already made,” he continued. “The aim of the campaign is to get people back into the behaviour of using their own money.”
The campaign also includes out-of-home, video pre-roll banner ads and social media. The out-of-home ads have headlines such as “No interest in paying interest” and “Reduce stress by 19.7% a month” and “Make a payment, not payments.”
The creative is supported with a national digital media campaign handled by Media Experts. French adaption for the Quebec marketplace was developed by Tank. The campaign will run into the spring.
