New Visa slogan debuts on 'American Idol' tonight

As cards' 'buzz' scores drop, firm switches to 'More people go with Visa'

By Julie Sherrier

Visa kicked off a new global advertising campaign March 4 that is "grounded in the reality that people are seeking to live both in the moment and within their means," states a company press release.

Replacing the now socioeconomically inappropriate "Life takes Visa" campaign, which implied you can't really live without a credit card, the new "More people go with Visa" campaign is meant to reflect the current economic climate of doing what you can with what you have.

Part of the impetus behind the new campaign could have been Visa's overall "buzz" score dropping 5.7 percent. Visa wasn't alone. The buzz score for MasterCard and American Express dropped even more -- nearly 10 percent, according to AdWeek. A buzz score is roughly the percentage of Yahoo users searching for a subject on a given day, according to Yahoo. Visa says the new campaign better aligns its global marketing efforts since six Visa regions around the world were aligned into oneentity less than a year ago when the company went public.

The first two new Visa ads -- "Let's Go" and "Aquarium," appeared during "American Idol" March 4.

The campaign "focuses on Visa's core growth strategy -- migrating consumer and business spending from cash and checks to a better form of electronic payment," Visa says. "The 'More people go with Visa' campaign is an invitation to make the most out of life every day, a powerful message. It's not about spending more, it's about using Visa for those things that are important to you every day," says Antonio Lucio, chief marketing officer of Visa Inc., in a press release.

As an add-on to the new campaign, Visa created a new Web site that offers tips and tools to help with managing money and debt. Print advertisements will roll out in the coming weeks that will feature Visa's check card.

Published: March 4, 2009

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