With a tagline like “Brilliantly Boring Since 1865”, you wouldn’t expect such fun work—especially from a bank. With our Brilliantly Boring campaign, our goal was to position PNC as a stable partner that puts pragmatic decision-making over unnecessary risk-taking.
Agency: Arnold Worldwide / ADs: Cat Wickham / David Hoffman / ECDs: Sam Mullins / Joe Fallon / Justin Galvin
PNC
Cutting Corners
(Headlines/OOH)
I’ve always wanted to write a line with placement in mind, and finally got the opportunity with this billboard at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. I’m hoping it will live forever on Google Maps.
These are just a few of the many lines I’ve written while working on the account.
(Social/OLV)
The Right Money Moves
Social media is flooded with financial “gurus” pitching schemes. They were the inspiration when writing these. Being seen by the anti-mlm community on Reddit, is what made it all worthwhile.
Brilliant Ben
(Social/OLV)
PNC is all about being pragmatic with your money. Not unlike one of our founding fathers, the one and only, Benjamin Franklin. But what would Mr. Franklin have to say about our current spending habits?
Drama is great if you’re a cast member on Vanderpump Rules, but it’s probably not a characteristic you want to see in your financial advisor. For this series of animated shorts, we highlighted some financial red flags.
Good for/Bad for
(Social/OLV)
SwAG
(Merch)
Whether it’s baby onesies, water bottles, mugs, coolers, and more, our team was responsible for everything merch for all lines of business, including retail, private banking, and corporate & institutional banking.
The water bottle went out to more than 50,000 employees to celebrate the new campaign, and being a junior at the time, yes, I was terrified by that number.
Water bottle copy: You’re probably sitting at your desk right now doing your brilliantly boring banking job asking yourself, a water bottle, really? How boring. Why not a trucker hat or a fancy pen or maybe even an ugly sweater that you can don at next year’s holiday party? Well, as brilliant as those things are, at the end of the day none of them can measure up to the classic, clear, flavorless force of water. The boring elixir of life. The hydrator to beat all hydrators. Just think of all the amazing things you’ll be able to accomplish knowing you’ll never be dehydrated again. You can run to meetings. Literally, run. You can let out refreshing sighs of confidence knowing that you can take on any project. Boring or otherwise. You will be a hydrated hero to the parched masses who aren’t lucky enough to work here and have a water bottle of their own. When you stop to think about it, this ordinary water bottle just might change your life. Are you seeing it now? Has the metaphor sunk in? This isn’t just a boring old water bottle, it’s a vessel for potential. A brilliant one at that. Feeling thirsty yet?