PHOENIX—Several credit unions aired TV ads during the Super Bowl, including Desert Financial CU, which turned to a well-known authority to educate its market that “School’s out” of its name.
The $4.3-billion CU hired rocker Alice Cooper to sing one of his iconic songs that ties right into the credit union’s former name—Desert Schools—to emphasize the CU has a new brand.
Appearing in the Super Bowl commercial as a face on an ATM monitor, Cooper announces “School’s out.” In response, a man who has inserted his debit card, responds, “For summer?” And Cooper snarls back, “For EVER!”
The reference is to Cooper’s 1997 hit “Schools Out,” which continues to get airplay.
In the video the credit union designed the interior of the credit union to look like it would look if it was straight out of an old Alice Cooper video. The video can be viewed here.
“We wanted to design the interior of the bank to look like it would look if it was in an Alice Cooper fever dream,” video director Ze'ev Waismann told AZCentral.com. "We wanted it to feel very much like it was a working bank branch, where you would still have tellers there, but they’re zombies, right? Loan managers but they’re all inspired by these Alice Cooper personas. And Alice Cooper, very much at the head of this experience, is on stage singing 'School’s Out.'"
Cathy Graham, senior vice president and chief marketing manager of Desert Financial and a self-acknowledged ’70s child, told AZCentral.com that the concept for the 60-second spot occurred to her as she was driving home from work one day.
Graham told AZCentral.com the commercial is “perfect for the nature of our name change. And he’s local. It almost felt like a moral imperative. It just works on so many levels. And once the idea was there, we couldn’t think of something that would be a better way for us to do a really great Super Bowl ad.”
In addition to singing the chorus of his hit, Cooper uses his most famous stage prop, AZCentral.com said.
“You have to have a guillotine... That’s part of the Alice Cooper universe,” Graham told AZCentral.com. “Is Alice Cooper edgier than your typical spokesperson? One-hundred percent. Absolutely. That’s why this was something we would do for the Super Bowl. This obviously wouldn’t be our approach for our regular day-to-day brand messaging.”
Meanwhile, in one of the Patriots’ home markets, Fitchburg, Mass., Workers Credit Union bought time in its local affiliates during the Super Bowl for an ad it has been airing for several months titled “Bank Like a Big Wig.” The ads use humorous video showing people wearing big wigs to emphasize that how everyday people are treated just like so-called “big wigs.”
The ad can be viewed here.
In Sacramento, Calif., the Golden 1 Credit Union also aired a TV spot during the Super Bowl. According to the Golden 1, its "Stronger Together" campaign is focused on core Sacramento and Fresno markets with its ad appearing in pre-game coverage and post-game programming.