American Express – Virtual Reality

"American Express - Virtual Reality" is the name of a television advertisement for the American Express multinational financial services corporation, created in 1998. Directed by David Kellogg, the spot is one in a series of Visa-bashing ads.

Synopsis

A man finds happiness in a romantic fantasy of himself ballroom dancing in the arms of a red-haired beauty. That is until a store clerk yanks the virtual reality device that produced her. The clerk tells the man that he put himself above his Visa credit card limit. Unlike Visa, American Express has no pre-set limits. A tug-of-war quickly ensues between the man and the clerk, which ultimately results in the police being called.

Reception

The commercial was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial, ultimately losing out to Apple Computer's "Think Different" advertisement.
Angelica Bridges was compared to a modern-day Ginger Rogers. Meanwhile, according to the Los Angeles Times, this particular ad helped
Raymond O'Connor, the hapless Visa user, land a role in the film My Giant.