Wells Fargo is mounting a flurry of film sponsorships as the nation’s fourth largest bank associates itself with Hollywood on several promotional fronts.
Wells Fargo took the title of “official financial institution sponsor” for 20th Century Fox release of “Red Tails” in a deal sparked by two of its bankers who served as combat fighter pilots in the celebrated WWII air unit of all-black fliers.
An article in American Banker newspaper notes that the bank “sponsored six promotional screenings of ‘Red Tails’ in cities including Atlanta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C. and Baltimore, Md., and is opening exhibits about the fighter pilots in its history museums. There are no Wells product placements in the film.”
The bank got some headline recognition in a press release as one of three sponsors of an Oscar-viewing party to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. This event associates the bank with a charity, celebrities, movies and good food.
Wells Fargo also popped up at a film festival. The bank is a sponsor of the Palm Spring (Calif.) Film Festival—sharing the financial services category with Bank of America.
“As part of our commitment to serve our diverse communities across the country, we have sponsored films that support diversity and financial literacy such as ‘Red Tails’, ‘Miss Representation,’ ‘Empire of Silver’ and others,” emailed a spokeswoman. “Miss Representation” is a documentary about women. “Empire of Silver” is a Chinese dynasty drama about a banking family.
Separate from these consumer promotions, Wells Fargo is a lender to the independent film sector with a $500 million loan portfolio. The San Francisco-based institution was one of the sturdier banks in the financial meltdown, is ranked as the nation’s 23rd largest corporation and has $1.3 trillion in assets.
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