Charlotte Business Journal: In one of Bank of America Corp.'s new 60-second ads airing during the Olympics, employee Dean Kirby says he spends his days dreaming about what an ATM can be. By shaving six seconds off each ATM transaction, he says, the bank has made life easier for people. Kirby appears in one of four new television spots in an ad campaign called "Portraits of a Bank." BofA, a corporate sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team, began producing the four commercials in January. The spots' use of actual bank employees is unusual, said Cathy Bessant, BofA's chief marketing executive. "We feel like it's really an important part of the message and so inspirational to our own associates." Industry observers have estimated NBC is charging an average of $730,000 for a 30-second commercial spot airing during the games.
And a June 2002 story from our archives: Here, There, Everywhere an ATM: ATMs are getting national exposure in Bank of America's quirky advertising campaign, which touts the ubiquity of BofA's 14,000-strong ATM network.
