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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.

June 11, 2002

Got ATM?

With a total approaching 14,000 machines, Bank of America certainly does -- and has launched a $70 million ad campaign, the largest in the bank's history, that trumpets the fact.

Calling on high-powered ad agency Bozell, New York - the creator of the "Got Milk?" ads -- Bank of America launched four general market television ads nationwide in mid-May, one of which features the ubiquitous nature of its ATM network.

While other ads feature the bank's photo security check card, online banking and a new process to reduce mortgage payments, the commercial featuring the ATMs is getting perhaps the heaviest play.

"They're probably the most prominent ads we're running," said BofA representative Scott Scredon.

The campaign, which will run through August, is designed to promote growth on the retail side by attracting more checking account customers and more deposits.

"With about 14,000 ATMs, which is more than any other bank in the country, we of course wanted to show the convenience of our ATM network," Scredon said, "and that if you got a checking account with us, you would have that convenience all across the country."

The ATM commercial, a 30-second spot, shows a man walking around and running into a BofA ATM at every turn as "Jaws"-like music plays in the background. Finally, he runs into someone else and nervously says, "They're everywhere!" The other guy responds, "Well… yeah" and runs up to use the ATM.

This print ad from Bank of America promotes its ATM network.

A series of new print ads makes the same point. In one, a scuba diver floats near a coral reef in which a Bank of America ATM is imbedded. The tagline: "With America's largest ATM network, who knows where you'll find us next."

In another ad with the same tagline, a solitary cowboy on a horse has pulled up next to a large boulder that houses an ATM in the middle of the desert. Both ads follow up with the pitch that "A checking account from Bank of America makes it easy to get your money."

The eye-catching, humorous nature of the ads is nothing new for Bank of America, which scored well during the Winter Olympics with a series of commercials in which some of its employees attempted (poorly) to compete in various events. The message? That the bank has decided to leave the Games to the athletes and go back to doing what it does best: handling your money.

"Most people think of banks as stuffy," Dan Roselli, a brand and communications executive with the bank, told USA Today last March. "We're a relationship business. Showing our human side is very important."

In the same manner, the bank said its new ads are geared toward a younger, more mobile and affluent audience that prefers more entertaining commercials.

The current $70 million campaign comes on the heels of a $30 million ad campaign in April with messages tailored specifically for Asian-American, Hispanic and African-American consumers.

ATMs were featured in a Spanish-language commercial for Hispanic consumers touting the bank's new "SafeSend" service that provides what the bank calls "a unique, international ATM remittance service to Mexico."

With SafeSend, Hispanic consumers can send money to Mexico 24/7 using the phone, the Internet or an ATM. In Mexico, recipients use a PIN and SafeSend ATM card to access the money within minutes at any of 20,000 ATMs.

As for the new campaign, the convenience of ATM access remains an attractive lure.

"Well, yes," Scredon said. "The campaign is generally aimed at gaining us more new checking accounts and more mortgage customers. We believe that by showing off the convenience of the ATM network, that would be a key selling point."