How Do You Get People Excited About a Product That Doesn't Exist? In our series 'Anatomy of an Ad,' producer Liz O'Connor breaks down the components of the award-winning True Name by Mastercard campaign.

By Entrepreneur Staff

"In advertising, most often you are creating an ad around a product that's already in stores," says Liz O'Connor, a producer at advertising powerhouse McCann New York. "But with True Name by Mastercard, the card didn't exist."

This was the challenge faced by O'Connor and the creative team behind Mastercard's True Name campaign, which works with banks to allow transgender users to put their chosen names on their cards. "For many of us, we hand a cashier our credit card and it is such an easy transaction," she explains, "But for a transperson, it isn't always that way. And so we wanted to be very thoughtful about that very simple, easy moment that brings someone a lot of anxiety."

In the video above, O'Connor breaks down the emotional and creative components of this powerful ad, which garnered multiple awards, including the Brand Experience and Activation Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, as well as Gold Lions in both the Direct and PR categories. This project, she says, was incredibly fulfilling for the team professionally and personally. "This product didn't exist, and we wanted to show banks that this was an important thing to create," says O'Connor. "And so that's what we did. We made a spot and got a bunch of people excited about it, and lo and behold, True Name is a real product that lives in the world now."

Entrepreneur Staff

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor

More from Anatomy Of An Ad

How This Ad Agency Got the Attention of An Entire Nation

How This Agency Is Using Creativity to Inspire Greatness in Others

How to Deliver a Serious Message Through Humor

How Do You Get People Excited About a Product That Doesn't Exist?

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Devices

Get This 4-in-1 USB-C Charger for Apple Devices for $19.99

Get this useful, lightweight charger for a great price (regularly $29).

Business News

The 20 Most Affluent Places in the U.S.

There are some places in the U.S. where the average household income is over half a million dollars.

Business Solutions

Get MS Office for Mac and Rosetta Stone for $199.99 (reg. $518)

Boost your skills and take advantage of these lifetime deals on sale for a limited time.

Leadership

A Guide to Effective Crisis Leadership — Key Steps to Lead Your Team Through Turbulent Times

The essential strategies and skills required to be a successful crisis leader and guide your organization through difficult times.

Personal Finance

5 Entrepreneurial Mindset Principles That Empower Financial Literacy

Adopting the right mindset is key to financial literacy. Follow these five guiding principles to enhance your understanding of wealth creation and growth.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2023

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2023.