The “Great Ideas Travel” campaign is anchored through a television spot that uses relatable human experiences to highlight how business travel sparks new ideas and connections for businesses that could never happen through a screen or a piece of paper. The spot depicts a man and a woman inspecting a line of t-shirts on a group of mannequins to clear them for production. As the woman inspects the bottom hem of one of the shirts, she is struck with an idea: “What if we started making pants?” (The mannequins, in fact, aren’t wearing any.) A voiceover offers the payoff, “Being there makes all the difference.”

“We’ve partnered with Amex GBT since 2023, and it’s a proud moment to see the campaign and the new global brand identity out in the open,” said Bill Scott, CEO Droga5 London, in a statement. “We’re telling the Amex GBT story in a new way. ‘Great Ideas Travel’ brings humanity and a rallying cry to the travel industry – we all know it’s hard to beat being together in person.”

The campaign will run across TV, social media, digital and out-of-home, as well as at Amex GBT’s owned channels and event activations.

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The campaign is aimed at both consumers and financial advisors, with the dual purpose of highlighting awareness for the company’s wealth management offerings and its dedicated financial professionals.

The effort, the first from agency 72andSunny New York for the brand, uses humor to make its point, acknowledging that financial anxiety can distract people from enjoying everyday life. 

Anxieties about one’s financial future can weigh heavily on an individual, particularly during uncertain times. MassMutual’s new campaign addresses those anxieties head on by depicting how those worries can distract from other parts of life, both for regular people and the financial professionals who advise them. 

In one spot, for instance, a woman sits at her home office looking distracted. Her cats ask her about her concerns, which she reveals are financial in nature. The cats offer advice, telling her she needs to get more organized so they can move out of their small cat condo. In another spot, a man finishes reading a bedtime story to his son when a stuffed animal pops up to resume their nightly chat about financial worries. When the man says he no longer needs the advice because he is working with MassMutual, the stuffed animal expresses relief, noting that he is not qualified to offer such advice. 

A third spot targets financial professionals, depicting a man in an art gallery where the paintings and sculptures come to life and speak to him about how they would like to plan for their financial futures. As the questions become more complex, he encounters his client, the gallery owner, who claims the event could not have happened without his help, providing reassurance that his advice has been sound. 

“Financial topics can be stressful, complex, and highly personal, and the humor deployed throughout ‘The Feeling Is MassMutual’ breaks through those emotional barriers to make the message more approachable,” said Kristin Lane, head of customer activation & engagement at MassMutual, in a statement provided to Brand Innovators. “It takes a wealth of creative skill to help make having a financial professional feel as essential as having a medical professional, and that’s exactly what our first campaign with 72andSunny delivers.”

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This new payments feature allows Perplexity to turn its agentic AI service directly into a shopping platform and is an early example of what the emerging agentic commerce business will look like in the future. 

“Perplexity wants to have accurate, trustworthy answers wherever people are making decisions. PayPal is a natural partner because we share a vision for how important trust is in the age of AI,” said Aravind Srinivas, Cofounder and CEO of Perplexity, in a statement.

 ”This partnership unlocks new possibilities, where conversations now drive commerce,” said Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal, in a statement. ”We’re making it easy and secure to shop right in the chat when inspiration strikes. It’s a powerful step in making conversational commerce a reality.”

PayPal is not the only financial services firm looking to get into agentic commerce. Visa and Mastercard also recently launched new tools to integrate artificial intelligence into online purchases. Visa’s Intelligent Commerce platform has partnered with Anthropic, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Samsung and Perplexity to accept tokenized payments.

Mastercard’s new Agent Pay will integrate Microsoft’s AI tools, including Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Copilot Studio.

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The spot will debut during the NBA playoffs on Saturday. In it, Ferrell is once again in line at a retail store and strikes up a conversation with another customer. She recognizes him from the previous campaign and wonders if he’s going to begin singing again. He says no, but quickly succumbs and begins singing about how PayPal lets customers “Pay your own way.” 

The scene then cuts to Ferrell on an airplane, where he annoys children sitting next to him about how he purchased tickets using a no-interest payment plan. He’s then shown in a luxury bathroom setting his hair in curlers and making online purchases from his phone and later accessing a subway using a mobile app. 

The new campaign is intended to build upon the introductory campaign from last year, showcasing that PayPal has an array of offerings to facilitate payment at checkout for consumers, said Geoff Seeley, PayPal’s chief marketing officer. 

“The takeaway is that PayPal is the best way to pay for every purchase every time. We’re telling a powerful story, both for our customers and for our business,” Seeley said. He added that the continued use of Fleetwood Mac as a soundtrack tied the campaigns together. 

“Fleetwood Mac embodies what it means to be a timeless band. Their songs are well-loved and well-known across generations,” he said. “What’s so great with these fun recreations is the prevalence they have and we’re able to ride that wave to keep the brand top of mind throughout the shopping journey.”

In addition to the commercial, the new campaign will be supported with out-of-home, digital, streaming, radio, podcast, influencer and social media activations. In addition, the brand has launched a sweepstakes, “The Great PayPal Checkout,” which will cover the purchases of 1,000 people per day (up to $100 each) for 100 days when they use PayPal Checkout. (That’s a total of $10 million in covered purchases.)

“The launch of The Great PayPal Checkout was the perfect way to kick off this multi-phased campaign,” Seeley said. “We wanted to take an already rewarding checkout experience with PayPal even further for our customers – simply for using PayPal at checkout. It’s a campaign built on our business priorities and really focuses on customers choosing to pay with PayPal for all their purchases.”

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Last year, H&R Block debuted its first-ever branded entertainment “Responsibility Island,” a reality TV show about doing taxes aimed to attract Gen Z.

The cast members believe they are starring on a dating show, only to realize that they are actually taking part in a responsibility boot camp, in which they have to learn to file their own taxes in order to get off the island.

“At H&R Block, our focus is always the customer experience. Tax season can feel daunting – especially for young adults and first-time filers,” said Jill Cress, chief marketing and experience officer, H&R Block. “That’s exactly why we created Responsibility Island – to take an often overwhelming and intimidating task, and make it fun, relatable, and dare we say, entertaining.”  

“Last year, the series was a hit because it turned tax prep into a reality TV-inspired adventure, complete with drama, laughs, and life lessons,” added Cress. “This year, we’ve doubled down on this with a ‘reunion special’ that lets fans catch up with their favorite contestants, while reinforcing that getting your finances in order –just like adulting– is an ongoing journey.”

The effort aims to educate and entertain younger audiences who may be new to filing taxes. 

“Tax season can feel like a tidal wave of intimidation for filers, especially those filing for the first time,” explained Cress. “That’s why this campaign fits with our brand platform. During our busiest time of year, Responsibility Island allows us to cut through the noise with humor and storytelling – turning taxes into something engaging rather than stressful. And it’s working – last year, we didn’t just entertain, we delivered a 31% increase in brand awareness and a 15-point lift in brand consideration among Gen Z.”

“By leaning into entertainment and cultural relevance, we’re reinforcing our position as a brand that simplifies tax prep and provides expert help in a way that resonates with our consumers,” Cress continued.

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As part of the campaign, Johnson will appear in advertising, speaking about the importance of financial literacy and Experian’s role in helping families find stability. In one spot, Johnson speaks about her upbringing in a community where many people were not financially educated and how she is now inspired to pass along what she has learned as a business major and sports star who has signed lucrative Name, Image and Licensing deals. She also speaks about how Experian’s app has helped her manage her money and accounts. 

In a second spot, Johnson speaks about Experian’s debt relief program for the 5,000 families. “I love that Experian is giving these families financial freedom,” Johnson says. “That’s going to open up so many opportunities for them. That’s big.”

“Unmanageable debt prevents consumers from achieving their goals,” said Dacy Yee, president of Experian Consumer Services at Experian, in a statement. “During these challenging economic times, Experian offers resources that can help consumers save time and money as well as improve their overall financial health. We hope this debt relief and access to Experian tools will help beneficiaries in Louisiana move towards a healthier financial future.”

The spots will run throughout both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and in digital channels. The campaign will continue throughout April, which is Financial Literacy Month. 

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“The Super Bowl gave us the perfect stage to launch Rocket’s refreshed brand identity, along with our new long term core creative idea ‘Own the Dream,’” said Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO at Rocket. “We leveraged the Super Bowl, America’s largest cultural stage, to fundamentally reframe the way people think and feel about Rocket and the pathway to homeownership.”

The manifesto spot is meant to deepen that connection and pave the way for full funnel campaigns that will highlight the products and services that will help customers achieve those dreams, he said. 

The spot uses evocative emotional imagery of houses and people who are preparing to move into them, painting rooms and settling into homes, all backed by a voiceover that speaks to the American Dream being out of reach for too many. “Everyone in America deserves to own a piece of it, and we’re not going to stop until they do,” concludes the voiceover. 

The overtly emotional approach is intended to set Rocket apart from competitors, whose marketing is very “transactional” and focused on products and rates, Mildenhall said. The emotional approach lends a level of “humanity” to the company, he said. “The purpose of the ‘Own the Dream’ campaign is to reframe the perception of homeownership,” Mildenhall said. “Rather than viewing it solely as an expensive transaction, we want Americans to see homeownership as a pathway to generational wealth, security, and prosperity.”

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“It’s going to be a year when we see people go back and settle and digest: Go back into their communities, go back into their families, and really figure out, reset, and see what’s in for them,” says Jennifer Halloran, CMO of MassMutual. With so many issues affecting financial services in the balance—trade policies, budget deficits, interest rates and more—”we have a very big focus on making sure that everybody has a balanced practice of wealth management and protection products,” she says.  “That’s going to be very important for us next year.”

As they head into the new year, financial services marketers are focused on shoring up consumer confidence, learning how to target Generation Z consumers and integrating new technologies including artificial intelligence into their efforts. Many marketers are facing uncertainty by leaning into their core values while trying new communications approaches. 

For JPMorgan Chase “it’s a continuation of what we’ve been doing,” says Kristin Faucher, Head of Brand Strategy and Advertising: Card, Travel, Commerce. “It’s a lot of making sure that the right message is meeting the right person,” she says. 

Three basic values will guide marketing, says Faucher. “One is trustworthiness and reliability. The second is really a focus on brand storytelling and helping consumers understand the value of the products through incredible stories and driving emotional connection,” she says. “And the last one is really about how we see customers continue to be more values-based about the brands that they choose to work with and where they spend their money and their time.” 

This is particularly the case with the Generation Z consumers, the cohort born in 1996-2010, who are starting to come into their earning years. A report from Nielsen released in 2024 projected this demographic will overtake the spending of Baby Boomers in five years and become the wealthiest generation by the end of this decade. And Zoomers are keen on doing business with companies that reflect their worldview, so marketers know messaging to them has to factor those generational values. 

As Gen Z comes of age, this demographic will be a key focus for financial services marketers. As Jill Cress, CMO of H&R Block recently told Brand Innovators: “The biggest opportunity there is Gen Z as they start to become regular taxpayers.” She noted that Block’s recent annual report on The Outlook on American Life concluded Zoomers “are going to be future big earners in the economy.” 

As a group. Gen Z is optimistic about their earning potential and their future prospects, which is good for brands as they gear up their holiday efforts and look into next year. “There’s a level of confidence there that we were excited to see,” added Cress. 

Marketers are already learning how to communicate with this group. As Cress noted, Zoomers are hard to reach through traditional media channels. Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with technology, so it approaches media differently, and while Zoomers still get advice from trusted sources, those sources may be on YouTube or TikTok, says Floriana Abramovich, VP Brand Strategy & Advertising at JPMorgan Chase. 

“This audience’s attention span is very limited” so advertising has to make sure it is really speaking to them, say Abramovich. She noted that a recent JPMorgan Chase out-of-home campaign made use of bright colors that are attention grabbing and communicated using emojis, to cater to the demographic. 

“Things are just changing in terms of how we’re going to be moving people to consume,” says Alison Herzog, Head of Global Corporate Marketing, Visa. ”At the end of the day, it still comes down to how you can be smarter about making sure the message is heard in the end.”

Technology is bound to play a bigger part in the practice next year, according to financial services markets. The sector is grappling with using new tools such as artificial intelligence, just as consumers are relying on “Fintech” financial planning tools to organize their finances. 

“People aren’t going to let that one go,” says Halloran. AI can is giving marketers new opportunities for personalization and customer segmentation, but “there’s a regulatory environment there that hasn’t been solved” she says. Discussions about regulating social media and fintech are still pending along with the AI legislation, so there is still a lot to figure out, says Halloran. 

“There’s a lot of really great opportunity with AI,” she says, but added that it’s still important to make sure to have protections and “that we still have that first fact-checking, real person touching all of the work.” 

Keith Clark, chief marketing officer at Mutual of Omaha adds, “The growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence as an essential digital collaborator will continue to redefine the marketing creative process in 2025. Human creativity won’t be replaced, but rather aided by AI, which enables marketers to more quickly iterate on ideas and refine creative approaches. This integration into the creative process has the potential to be a game changer for marketing effectiveness and efficiency.”

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Venmo is well known for its ability for individuals to pay each other simply and efficiently, but over the years the app has expanded to include products like a debit card and an ability to use the payment system to pay for goods and services through its mobile app and on retailer sites. The new campaign seeks to highlight all of those options as it targets younger consumers, ages 18-29. 

A commerical in the new campaign shows a woman beginning her day by checking her Venmo balance. She then uses the app to pay for a manicure via a mobile payment and then for a mobile grooming company to clean her mud-covered dog. The narrative then switches to follow the groomer who uses Venmo to contribute as part of a group to a gift for his father’s birthday before depicting a group of women using Venmo to calculate payments at a group dinner with friends. The spot ends with the original woman taking Venmo payments for her small business. 

A second spot in the campaign depicts the young woman using Venmo’s mobile app and debit card to earn cashback through various purchases, including a manicure, clothing and a food truck. 

The campaign will run on streaming and connected TV channels, digital video, audio, social media, influencers and out-of-home in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas – all areas that have a high concentration of affluent Gen Z digital natives. 

Venmo’s campaign comes on the heels of its parent company, PayPal, launching its largest campaign to date via an effort featuring actor Will Ferrell. Some 70% of consumers are already using mobile payments, and the category is expected to reach $408 billion in transactions by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence. 

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Mobile payments are taking off, with Mordor Intelligence predicting the category will reach $408 billion by 2029 and 70% of consumers using mobile payments. As companies like Apple Pay, Venmo and Square become more popular in this category, PayPal – a veteran in the digital payments space – has an opportunity to reestablish itself as a leader in the space.

“This is our most ambitious campaign ever as we reintroduce PayPal to the world,” said Seeley. “We set out to shift perception from PayPal as a button at checkout to the safest, smartest, and most rewarding way to shop everywhere both online and in stores. And we wanted to do this in a playful way that would resonate with a range of audiences.”

In addition to the ad, PayPal is also introducing a redesign and an integrated marketing campaign including: out-of-home, digital media, streaming and radio, podcast, influencers and social media takeovers.

“On one hand, we have one of the most recognizable brands that is seen and used by millions of people every day. On the other hand, consumer perceptions of us are outdated – they aren’t aware of the breadth and depth of things they can do with PayPal today,” explained Seeley. “We’re reintroducing PayPal and its product capabilities to the world – showing that we’re way more than an online checkout button and we now offer a rewarding value prop, expanded accessibility and ease to shop and pay with PayPal in stores.”

Using the NFL season – one of TV’s most watched times of year –  as the platform to launch this rebrand gives PayPal a massive reach and could potentially lead into a successful Super Bowl spot, which Seeley hinted at.

“Monday night football is such a signature part of American TV and the perfect cultural kickoff for our campaign,” adds Seeley. “PayPal is for everyone, every type of customer everywhere they shop. We’re speaking to multiple audiences, including Gen Z, Millennials, young families, and millions of smart shoppers all looking for ways to save and put more money back in their pockets every time they make a purchase.”

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