New BoA/Merrill Ads Ask Prospects to ‘Fill-in-the-Blank’

The new campaign grew from a survey suggesting that half of retirees wish they'd focused more on their ‘life goals’ when preparing for retirement.

It’s not about the money. Or is it?  

Bank of America announced the debut of a $20 million marketing campaign whose tagline is pronounced “Help To Retire Blank” but appears in print as “help2retire______.”  The campaign will run from January 25 to April 30, 2010.

The campaign encourages Americans to “fill in the blank” by identifying unwanted habits and to seek out a Merrill Lynch Wealth Management advisor for help focusing on what matters most in planning for retirement.

The tagline is meant to serve as a basis for ad themes like help2retire Guesswork, help2retire Confusion, help2retire The 6 AM Train, help2retire 9 to 5, and so forth. A team led by Hill Holliday developed the creative.

The campaign ties into Merrill Lynch Wealth Management’s “help2” campaign, launched last October. It was “designed to demonstrate a commitment to delivering personalized, insightful financial advice, along with a broad platform of financial solutions, to help clients pursue their financial goals,” the company said in a release.

The new campaign grew from a Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly survey, released Jan. 14, which showed that 51% of retired respondents wish they’d focused more on their ‘life goals’ and less on ‘the numbers’ when preparing for retirement.

The new “help2retire______” campaign is scheduled for broadcast network and national cable programming, including on Bloomberg TV, The Golf Channel and CBS College Sports during the 2010 NCAA basketball regular season and conference championships, as well as across radio and “out-of-home” marketing channels.

Ads are scheduled for print and online editions of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Fortune, Golf Magazine, Food & Wine, Kiplinger’s, The New York Times, The Economist, Investor’s Business Daily, Financial Planning, Investment News and others.    

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