U.S. Bank just launched a new campaign titled "The Power of Us," which was made with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the creation process.
The campaign was developed under the leadership of its new CMO Michael Lacorazza, in partnership with New York-based firm Supernatural AI.
"The Power of Us" includes two short films focusing on achievements that can be made possible through U.S. Bank services.
Narrated by actor Jake Gyllenhaal in English, a Spanish version of the ads is also available to cater to the bank’s large Hispanic market.
The first spot, titled "The power of us: Do more with U.S. Bank," depicts the many difficulties that every working adult can identify with, like late nights, cold pizza, less-than-glamorous travel, and multitasking.
"At U.S. Bank, when we say, 'we're there for you,' we mean it. Not just for the good stuff: the grand openings, the big expansions, and the celebrations, although those are pretty great," the "Road House" actor says.
"But for all the hard work it took to get there," he adds.
The commercial closes with the message, "There is nothing more powerful than 'The Power of Us.'"
The second spot, "Cobrowse: Unlock banking experts anytime you need them," showcases the eponymous feature offered by U.S. Bank that allows customers to chat with a personal banker anytime.
We see two parents preparing to send their son off to college, giving him a credit card to buy books, shoes, and other things he needs for the school year.
The son tries to buy three pairs of shoes but stops at one when the U.S. Bank credit card reminds him of his spending limit, as the spot ends with the campaign's tagline.
Targeting a broad audience, the campaign aims to resonate with business owners, teens, new parents, and U.S. Bank employees by focusing on milestone life moments like sending kids to college and retirement.
How U.S. Bank Utilized AI
For this campaign, the bank chose to partner with Supernatural AI, an AI-powered offshoot platform of the award-winning agency, instead of McCann, its creative agency since 2020.
"We had a desire to get to market very quickly… and an efficiency play was a big part of this," Lacorazza said, describing the reason behind the move.
U.S. Bank also wanted to experiment with its marketing methods, which created the perfect opportunity to test how AI can help.
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Insights for the ad were gathered through research and discussions with stakeholders, emphasizing that U.S. Bank plays a role in crucial life moments.
AI was then used primarily for strategy, creating virtual customer avatars to test creative concepts quickly instead of traditional focus groups, speeding up the process significantly.
This allowed "The Power of Us" to be developed in under four months, much faster than the usual campaign creation timeline.
Ensuring the Adoption of Ethical AI
Although it can't be denied that AI has many benefits, especially when it comes to fast-tracking processes like what U.S. Bank did, caution has to be used to ensure regulations and ethics are upheld.
“Given the significant impact of financial decisions on individuals, the sector must exercise heightened caution,” Sray Agarwal, head of Responsible AI at Fractal Analytics, said in an interview about ethical AI.
"This entails thorough scrutiny of every AI model using appropriate privacy algorithms, policies, and measures to detect and mitigate bias and discrimination," he added.
Agarwal, who also wrote the book published by Springer, "Responsible AI: Implementing Ethical and Unbiased Algorithms," has pioneered AI frameworks for major banks in the U.K. and U.S.
It is crucial for brands experimenting with AI integration, like U.S. Bank, to take note of the experts and companies to consult when it comes to ensuring that how they're using AI is both responsible and ethical.
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Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
