• by Tanya Gazdik , May 4, 2010

U.S. Trust has launched a new ad campaign with the tagline "What is worth?"

The campaign is aimed at "ultra high net worth individuals and families seeking a private banking relationship to help them manage the complexities that come with wealth, including both tangible and intangible assets," according to the New York-based Bank of America's private wealth management unit.

People do not consider their "worth" and their "wealth" to be synonymous, said Claire Huang, head of marketing for Bank of America global wealth management, global banking and global markets. "They see their worth as a reflection of their values, goals, work ethic, relationships, history and legacy," Huang said in a release.

The campaign, which launched May 2, will run through the end of the year. Ads will appear in print and online daily and weekly publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Barron's, Worth Magazine, FT Wealth and Architectural Digest, as well as a focused search engine effort that reinforces the campaign.

An integrated team of agencies, led by Hill Holliday, worked with Bank of America to develop the new creative. U.S. Trust's last TV campaign was launched in June 2008 with the theme "Today's Wealth."

The campaign uses the "What is Worth?" construct to pose rhetorical and thoughtful questions about how individuals measure their worth. One of the print ads shows family pictures such as a woman running in a field with a small boy. The headline "What is worth" includes the interspersed phrase "passing down your values as well as your assets."

The copy asks: "How is worth measured? Is it simply total assets minus total liabilities? At U.S. Trust, we believe affluence should be measured not only by net worth, but by the things in life that take on a worth all their own. For decade upon decade, U.S. Trust has understood the value and vitality of worth. And we apply our intellectual resources and financial acumen toward helping clients realize it. Because we believe you deserve more than wealth management -- you deserve worth management."