PNC’s new social campaign puts cheeky twist on a founding father’s adages

PNC Bank has launched a social campaign across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn, mixing the newer formats with the words of a founding father.

Money talks, literally, in the campaign, dubbed “Brilliant Ben Franklinisms,” as an animated Franklin image on a $100 bill offers some of his adages with cheeky modern riffs. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,” for example, goes on to add a few things like late night pizza orders that definitely weren’t part of colonial life.

“Brilliant Ben Franklinisms leans on an American mind who knows a thing or two about being smart and responsible,” Jenn Garbach, PNC’s chief marketing officer, said via email. “Our new social campaign flips Ben Franklin’s iconic quotes into clever, no-nonsense money advice on behalf of PNC — a humorous, unexpected hook to deliver our brand message in a new way.”