Interactive ad: FirstBank: Lewis

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To promote free checking, TVc’s (plus online/OOH/print) begin by acknowledging consumer distrust of “free.” Then restore that faith with a suite of undeniably, unasteriskably, un-with-purchase-ably free giveaways.

The television commercials, one :30 and three :15s, show big-ticket housewares (couch, flat-screen, vacuum cleaner) left out on the street, marked “free.” Passers-by poke, prod, frown at and pass up the goods, while a V.O. muses, “Have you ever noticed how skeptical people are of ‘free’? As if the word ‘free’ automatically means something must be wrong? Well, what if ‘free’ really just meant free?” Supered text reads, “Restore your faith in free,” and V.O. ends, “Get mobile banking, alerts, and great customer service. And get it free.” Additional, pared-down support advertising, headlined “Free Happens” and running online and in OOH and print, just shows people looking drop-jaw stunned.

The payoff, so to speak, is the five surprise, experiential give-aways: 500 delivery pizzas, in boxes labeled “Enjoy this free sample of free”; 1500 food truck meals alongside signage reading: “There is such a thing as a free lunch”; pedicab rides to and from baseball games—drivers wearing “Free Happens” t-shirts; at outdoor free movie nights, an announcer appearing, first on-screen, then live on-stage, to give away a free Kindle Fire HD; and complimentary “Free Happens” recharging stations at Denver International Airport.

The campaign targets a broad, young (18 – 34) audience, mirroring free checking’s greatest appeal. TV runs on broadcast and cable channels such as ESPN, MTV, AMC. Giveaway categories/venues (delivery pizza, food truck, baseball game, outdoor concert) skew young.