AdMiration feature: Discover’s “Vintage”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Discover’s “Vintage” ad, which is part of their national brand campaign “Especially for Everyone” featuring award-winning actress Jennifer Coolidge.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to Jennifer Coolidge checking out at a vintage store. As she goes to pay with her Discover card, her friend says, “I don’t think they’ll take that here.” 

Jennifer responds, "Of course they take Discover! It’s accepted at 99% of places,” pointing to a sign that reads ”Discover® accepted at 99% of places nationwide” as her card is accepted. 

“99%? I didn’t know that,” he says, impressed. To which Jennifer retorts, “You’re stuck in the past, baby!” giving him a little nudge and laughing. 

He claps back, saying, “Well, you’re the one who owns 13 pairs of parachute pants.” She pauses and unassuredly says, “Well…fashion is cyclical…it’ll come back. Right?...Hopefully?” 

The ad closes with her looking between both her friend and the cashier as the words “Discover: Accepted at 99% of places nationwide” appear on screen as a voiceover narrates and adds “Earn cashback at all of them.” 

3 facts

• Discover’s ad performed well with consumers, landing in the top 5% of US finance ads in potential to drive immediate sales (Sales Impact: 95) and in the top 40% of US finance ads in potential to drive brand equity over the longer term (Brand Impact: 62).

• The spot delivered on a clear, believable message that addresses category pain points — effectively communicating that “Discover is accepted at 99% of places” with 55% of respondents recalling that exact messaging spontaneously and “Discover is accepted almost everywhere” being seen as a clear and believable as a message (Key Message Clarity: 4.5 vs. 3.8 norm, Key Message Believability: 4.5 vs. 3.7).

• The ad also included a great use of celebrity to engage and entertain without taking away from the message, with a high Celebrity Appeal score of 4.2 (compared to a norm of 3.8) and viewers saying things like, “I always enjoy Jennifer Coolidge. The ad was also concise and very straightforward" and "I like that Jennifer Coolidge is featured in the ad because she is hilarious. I also like the dynamic between her and her male friend in the ad. I like the small store setting of the ad. I love the humor."

2 learnings

• Finance ads can still be entertaining! Just because it can be more difficult to advertise an intangible product, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to create a fun ad. In addition to fantastic communication, Discover does an excellent job at entertaining viewers with this spot, with many viewers finding it distinctive compared to other US finance ads (Distinctiveness: 3.8 vs. 3.6 norm) and enjoyable (Enjoyment: 4.0 vs. 3.7 norm).

• Celebrities should complement, not distract. This is a great example of an ad that uses a celebrity to compliment, rather than detract from the brand. While it was certainly entertaining, viewers still walked away knowing that Discover was the brand in the ad (Brand recall: 76% vs. 68% norm), that Discover delivers what they expect from a credit card brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.0 vs. 3.8 norm) and that Discover is different from other credit card brands (Brand Distinctiveness: 3.6 vs. 3.4 norm) — certainly not an easy feat!

1 reflection

Are you being single minded and patient enough to overcome negative brand associations or establish new ones? People don't see advertising nearly as much as we think they might. Nor are they highly attentive to it. It takes compelling, single minded creative, expressed in different and entertaining ways, but with the same underlying associations to turn things around (and then follow through with the experience of course!). Give yourself time and stay patient while the signals start to show the improvement.

Discover’s ongoing “Especially for Everyone” series is a great example of this. By presenting the key takeaway they want viewers to hear over and over, in a series of entertaining spots to boot, Discover is successfully changing the narrative of their brand with consumers.

Discover’s “Vintage” spot is part of Discover’s ongoing  “Especially for Everyone” brand platform series, which partners with actress Jennifer Coolidge for a series of national ads that highlight Discover’s benefits and products. 

The campaign, which kicked off in 2023, was created in partnership with TBWA\Chiat\Day LA and includes ads like “Salon” and “Dwayne” to name a few.  

Throughout each ad in the campaign, Discover communicates how their services ensure all customers feel valued, no matter who (or where) you are.  

Coolidge shares, “I am proud to be partnering with Discover for this new campaign because they offer a unique experience for all of their customers. I gravitate towards people who treat others equally and are accessible which I found to be even more true with the Discover team when we were filming these ads.”

Jennifer Murillo, Chief Marketing Officer at Discover, adds, “We’re partnering with Jennifer Coolidge to showcase how Discover delivers a great experience to everyone, which is a refreshing notion, especially these days, when other companies are limiting their best service and experiences to only certain customers. Discover doesn’t reserve our best treatment for a select few. All of our customers have access to our great benefits, including the same 24/7 US-based customer service. All of our credit card products feature no annual fee. And we think all of our customers should be getting cash back on their purchases, so we are offering Cashback Debit, our free checking account that gives cash back on debit card purchases. Jennifer was the perfect partner to help us tell that story and she brought her special creative energy, relatability and humor to the project.”

“Especially for Everyone” will run nationwide across a variety of channels, including TV commercials, online video advertising, radio, social media and more.

This was a true lesson in great brand messaging and celebrity usage from Discover! “Vintage” was well-received by consumers, landing in the top 5% of US finance ads in potential to drive immediate sales (Sales Impact: 95) and in the top 40% of US finance ads in potential to drive brand equity over the longer term (Brand Impact: 62).

This spot was a very different take on typical advertising for the finance category — full of humor and entertainment! And consumers took note, finding the ad highly distinctive compared to other US finance ads (Distinctiveness: 3.8 vs. 3.6 norm). On top of that, people truly enjoyed the ad and found it to be relevant to them (Enjoyment: 4.0 vs. 3.7 norm, Relevance: 3.5 vs. 3.3 norm), which is no easy feat, especially for the category.  

Even though the spot included the wildly popular (and true character of her own) Jennifer Coolidge, the brand did an excellent job at balancing her brand with their own — entertaining viewers while also delivering on their intended message. This can be seen through the high brand recall score (Brand Recall: 76% vs. 68% norm), indicating that people clearly remember who the ad is for. 

On top of that, the ad effectively communicates the brand’s intended message that  Discover is accepted at 99% of places, with “Discover is accepted almost everywhere” seen as a clear and believable message (Key Message Clarity: 4.5 vs. 3.8 norm, Key Message Believability: 4.5 vs. 3.7) and 55% of viewers spontaneously recalling that exact line!  

What’s more, after viewing the ad, audiences felt that Discover delivers what they expect from a credit card brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.0 vs. 3.8 norm) and that Discover is different from other credit card brands (Brand Distinctiveness: 3.6 vs. 3.4 norm). As an added bonus, viewers also shared that the ad made them feel good about the Discover brand after watching (Brand Appeal: 3.9 vs. 3.7 norm), something every brand wants to see.  

With great use of celebrity to entertain and great branding, it’s no surprise this spot from Discover generated a lot of positive reactions — largely “Love” (23% vs. 16% norm) and “Laughter” seen throughout the ad. In fact, for the category, the spot yielded a higher than usual score for overall emotion (54 vs. 47).

It begins with a mix of Love and Like as the scene is established, with the biggest spike of love when the message that Discover is accepted at 99% of places is said for the first time. Spikes of Laughter pop up throughout, like when the man brings up the 13 pairs of parachute pants and when Jennifer says “...right?” It all ends on a high with another mix of Like and Love when the Discover logo comes onscreen and the voiceover says “Discover is accepted at 99% of places nationwide” to close. 

Overall, this spot was a fantastic lesson in how to include a celebrity in your ad to complement your brand and help deliver your intended message, without taking away from your brand or distracting viewers from who the ad is for. 

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad:

• "I like that Jennifer Coolidge is featured in the ad because she is hilarious. I also like the dynamic between her and her male friend in the ad. I like the small store setting of the ad. I love the humor."

• "The recurring female character finally got a gentle dose of reality."

• "I liked the overall vibe of the ad and I liked the information presented."

• "I always enjoy Jennifer Coolidge. The ad was also concise and very straightforward."

• "It was light and funny, but it gave you the important information in simple terms."

• "I liked that they kept it short and simple, but still got the point across."

• "The fact that the card is acceptable in 99% of places nationwide was vividly illustrated."

• "I like the message that the Discover credit card is accepted at 99% of different vendors. I also like the way they made fun of the past."

This is just one great spot from a series of ads from Discover that does an excellent job at entertaining viewers and communicating their message! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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