PNC Bank Spot Sees Parents Sell Their Kids’ Naming Rights to Pay for College

Last year, PNC Bank turned a blank slate into a breakaway brand built upon distinction, resonance and memorability with its “Brilliantly Boring Since 1865” brand platform. This year, PNC continues to use Brilliantly Boring as a growth engine starting with a new brand campaign created by AOR Arnold.

The new effort sees PNC doubling down on helping folks subvert risky money moves for the right ones – spotlighting the outrageous lengths people will go to with their finances, and positioning PNC as the brilliantly boring solution. It’s all about proving that boring works, by contrasting it with the flashy, risky, exciting alternatives that tempt PNC’s target audience every day.

The centrepiece of the campaign is a :30 TV spot, 'Naming Rights,' that examines an interesting premise: What if parents could sell their kids’ naming rights to local businesses (you know, like stadiums do), to offset the cost of kids these days? Braces, sports camps and colleges are indeed expensive, but as it turns out, PNC Bank has much smarter financial ideas to set customers up for the future. The spot ends with the tagline: The right money moves aren’t as absurd as you think. PNC Bank. Brilliantly Boring Since 1865.

“Year two of our Brilliantly Boring platform continues to evolve our campaign using humour and risky (yet relatable) extremes to reinforce the virtues of our boring banking philosophy, further solidifying PNC as a smarter financial way forward,” said Jenn Garbach, chief marketing officer at PNC Bank.

'Naming Rights' will extend into digital and social pieces as well, with an emphasis on native assets that feel less like tried-and-true ads, and more like content that sparks conversation, engagement and sharing – bringing PNC’s likeable personality to life in the context of everyday feeds.

“This is one of the smartest, not-so-smart ways of making money we’ve come up with,” said Arnold ECD James Bray. “Super unexpected but right there in front of all of us. To be honest, I would happily rename my kids 'PNC One' and 'PNC Two' if it means helping out with all these travel sports team expenses.”

The campaign will air nationally on broadcast channels and subsidiaries such as ESPN, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, Nick, Marquee Sports and the CW. Social media includes Meta, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. “Naming Rights” is the first of three-four waves of content rolling out this year and next.