Last year, Ramey created a new concept for BankPlus television, “What if Eli Manning Never Played Football?” In that alternate universe, Eli was transformed from a football star into a pizza delivery guy and an entertainer at a kids’ arcade. The message – even if Eli wasn’t a star, he’d still be treated like one at BankPlus.
When BankPlus and Ramey got together to discuss extending the campaign into 2013, we kept coming back to the “What if Eli Manning Never Played Football” theme. Even though the 2012 television ads were brand awareness spots and this year’s campaign needed to highlight the BankPlus mobile apps, the theme was still relevant. Now Eli receives star treatment from BankPlus through industry-leading mobile technology.
Now came the fun part – what “ordinary” job would be the funniest, and also help show the mobile app features like free remote deposit and mobile alerts? In the end, the winning idea was Eli Manning: semi-pro dodgeball player.
In this alternate universe, Eli is so busy riding the team bus to dodgeball games, he can’t ever find time to visit BankPlus. Fortunately, the BankPlus mobile app helps Eli accomplish all his banking needs directly from his phone – depositing some rather tiny dodgeball team paychecks and keeping up-to-date with his peculiar spending habits.
John Bonito, from Accomplice Media, transformed Eli into the professional dodgeball player and superstar of his team, the Mannimals. Bonito brought the campaign to life beautifully, especially with his idea of stuntmen doing dramatic jumps and flips after being hit by the ball. Eli had such a great time, he insisted on performing all of his own stunts.
Check out Eli as a dodgeball player who gets star treatment with the BankPlus mobile app.
Jana Brady, Account Executive at The Ramey Agency
