Ally Financial, the financial services company once known as GMAC, is introducing a brand campaign using the theme "Do It Right."
It's the first unified effort for the brand. Ally, which spun off from GM in 2006, previously ran ad campaigns for its two main products, auto financing and banking services.
The campaign, which includes TV, print and online, was created by Grey New York. Ally declined to discuss spending.
"Ally is a company that has been under great transformation -- particularly in the last year," said Andrea Riley, CMO at Ally. "We have added a lot of new products and services to redefine ourselves as a digital financial services company."
In June, Ally acquired TradeKing, a digital wealth management company, which broadened its target audience to include self-directed investors and affluent millennials. Also in June, it launched a credit card called the Ally CashBack card, and last year it began offering Premier Protection, a vehicle service contract.
"This campaign is really meant to connect the dots for people who may not be familiar with everything Ally has to offer today," Ms. Riley said. "The objective is to really put forward the relentless spirit that Ally teammates have to do right by our customers."
The campaign broke this week with a TV spot called "Anthem," running primarily on live programming including college football, Major League Baseball and other sports.
In the spot, an Ally executive says, "Remember, at Ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. Who's with me?" The other team members in the conference room put their hands in, and then everyone from the company runs to join in, with one employee crashing through a glass door.
"The 'Anthem' spot gives you a feel for the 7,000 people who work at Ally," Ms. Riley said. "It's really a call to arms -- all being called in – to put their hands in and commit to being relentless for our customers."
Two other spots will follow in the next few weeks. One shows an Ally employee who has fallen into a swimming pool and is resuscitated by a maintenance technician. The Ally rep reports that he was in a room full of light, and the maintenance man was there and was financially secure. The maintenance guy asks if he had a speedboat, so the Ally rep says, "Toss me back in and I'll find out."
Another ad features an auto dealer who coaches and sponsors a softball team of 8-year-olds. A voice-over says "Like all auto dealers, he just wants to do right for his community. And at Ally, we'll always do right by him," as an Ally rep delivers pizza for the team.
"We want people to watch these spots and and go 'Wow, that didn't feel like it came from a bank'," Ms. Riley said. "We wanted this to have breakthrough capability and stop people in their tracks."
The campaign also includes online videos and print ads featuring actual auto dealer customers; the web videos will run on sites including Automotive News (an Advertising Age sibling at Crain Communications) and Ward's Auto, while print ads are running in publications including Automotive News, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune and Time. Branded content and native ads will run with media companies such as Vice, PopSugar and Conde Nast.
