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Ogilvy & Mather has applied a softer tone to its second campaign

for the American Express Blue Card, having replaced the hard-living

nightclubbers who were the focus of previous ads with a young man and

his pet duck.

The commercial, which breaks this week, promotes the card’s 1 per cent

Moneyback loyalty scheme. The card gives cash back which enables the

customer to buy something he or she wants - in this case a duck.

It opens with a man smiling as he sits in a hallway looking at his

credit card statement. A voiceover says: ’Every time you use your

American Express Blue Card you get money back to spend on whatever

tickles your fancy.’

The ad cuts to the young man sitting opposite a duck in a rowing boat on

a lake. Accompanied by the Beach Boys song, God only Knows, the

commercial then cuts into a series of scenes of the young man and his

duck. The pair are seen jogging on a treadmill in a gym, waiting for a

bus in the pouring rain, sitting in a cafe and being thrown out of a

nightclub.

Katherine Whitton, head of advertising at American Express, said: ’We

have retained the strong brand values of American Express within the

context of a fresh, innovative and highly creative approach. We feel the

ad demonstrates the spontaneity and freedom that our Moneyback

proposition offers card members.’

The campaign was written by Ian Heartfield, art directed by Matt Doman

and directed by Joe Public through Partizan. Media planning and buying

is through Carat.