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American Express Showcases Iconic Personalities and Images in a New Campaign that Inspires Others to Dream Big and Make a Positive Difference Through Members Project®

Posted by J.S.

August 11, 2008

Classic American Express Advertising Footage Captures the Passion and Stories of Cardmembers: Jim Henson, Robert De Niro, John Cleese, Wes Anderson, Laird Hamilton, Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Scorsese and More

New York, August 11, 2008 — American Express unveiled a new television spot featuring celebrated members of the American Express family, highlighting each of their life’s projects and passions through a unique compilation of classic advertising imagery and footage. The new spot, which debuted on major broadcast outlets Friday, August 8, 2008 spotlights the late Muppets creator Jim Henson, actor Robert De Niro, comedian John Cleese, director/producer Wes Anderson, big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and writer/producer/director Martin Scorsese. Also featured are tennis greats Venus Williams and Billie Jean King, fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg and the late entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. The spot celebrates the achievements of these innovators and inspires others to make a positive impact on the world through Members Project, the online initiative that enables American Express® Cardmembers to submit, nominate and discuss their ideas for projects to change the world; American Express will be funding the winning projects with $2.5 million.

“American Express has a long history of showcasing extraordinary Cardmember stories. These iconic individuals each started out with a powerful idea. Through passion, drive, creativity and talent, they each took their ideas – their personal projects - and achieved something extraordinary, touching the lives of millions,” said Deborah Curtis, vice president of advertising, American Express. “Through Members Project, our Cardmembers have the opportunity to come together and make their voices heard in a unique way, to share their own ideas for projects or passions and, ultimately, change the world.”

Iconic award-winning imagery and footage in the spot includes:

* Two “Do You Know Me?®” clips featuring Jim Henson and John Cleese which ran in 1977 and 1983 respectively
* The Sammy Davis, Jr. “Portraits” print ad by Annie Leibovitz which ran in 1989
* Clips from the “My life, My card” campaign (2004-2007) which featured Laird Hamilton, Martin Scorsese, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro and Wes Anderson
* A clip from a classic spot featuring Martin Scorsese highlighting the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004

About Members Project
Now through August 19, Cardmembers will be able to submit their own ideas for projects to make a positive impact in the world and discuss, nominate and decide upon their favorite projects. Whether a Cardmember or not, everyone is invited to participate by commenting on and nominating their favorite projects online. Cardmembers can select one of the following categories that best fits their project submission: Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education, Environment & Wildlife and Health. Cardmembers can use photos, audio and video to enhance project submissions on the site and anyone can go online and share feedback and insights about specific projects for project submitters to consider. This type of collaboration is greatly encouraged as submissions can be revised throughout the first four weeks of the program. In addition, there are new and easy tools to promote projects and spread the word, including online badges, widgets and banners to be posted on sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Once the submission phase closes on August 19, American Express will work with an Advisory Panel of experts to review the projects and announce the Top 25 submissions on September 9. It’s up to Cardmembers to ultimately choose which projects American Express will fund. Cardmembers can make a collective difference by casting their vote, showing their support for their favorite projects and narrowing down to the Top Five projects starting September 30. The winning projects will be those with the most Cardmember votes, announced October 14.

Because there was so much passion for the final projects last year, this year, American Express will award multiple projects with a total of $2.5 million in funding. The top project will receive $1.5 million, the second place project will receive $500,000, the third place project will receive $300,000 and the remaining two finalist projects in the Top Five will receive $100,000 in funding.

American Express and Good Citizenship
Giving back is a core value and being a “good citizen” is a hallmark of American Express. Often credited as the first company to launch a cause-related marketing campaign via a program benefiting the Statue of Liberty in 1983, American Express has continued to roll out successful initiatives around the world that enhance communities and bring support to important causes.

More and more people are seeking ways to give back, align with important social issues and do business with companies that are making a positive impact. Members Project from American Express is a key way to bring to life the value of Membership for Cardmembers, empowering them to unite to make a positive impact in a meaningful way.

American Express Company is a leading global payments and travel company founded in 1850. For more information, visit http://www.americanexpress.com