New Commercials from Element 79 Reintroduce Hubert the Lion and Pay Homage to his Late Creator, Animator Sam Koukios CHICAGO, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Harris Bank today debuted a new advertising campaign by Chicago agency Element 79, celebrating Harris Bank's receipt of J.D. Power and Associates Highest Rank in Retail Banking in the Midwest Region in a Tie for Customer Satisfaction. The new advertising will air regionally in Chicago, Indianapolis and Milwaukee. The three new 15-second television spots also mark the return of Hubert the Lion to television for the first time in 12 years, as Harris Bank celebrates the life of Sam Koukios, the artist behind Hubert for the last 30 years. Koukios passed away on June 22, at age 79. "In these times, an award for Customer Satisfaction, especially in Retail Banking, is truly a point of pride," said Justine Fedak, Chief Marketing Officer at Harris Bank. "Sam Koukios understood the magic of Hubert the Lion. He helped shape his spirit and his character, representing Harris Bank's 6,000 employees in a way that made each of us proud. We are honored to pay tribute to Sam by bringing Hubert back to TV after a decade to help celebrate this award." The debut spot, "Thank You," features a picture of Hubert the Lion and Koukios among customer letters of appreciation posted on a bulletin board, while others in the campaign will bring Hubert to life in animated form. This new advertising is a fitting extension of Harris' successful customer-service-centric "Here to Help" campaign, which has been running in the bank's markets over the past three years. New spots within the long running campaign will break in the fall. "With this campaign, we wanted to honor both Harris customers who voted Harris number one in customer service and the employees whose exceptional customer service made the award possible," said Alan Spindle, Creative Director at Element 79 Chicago, who created the work along with Resolution Digital Studios and Calabash Animation Studios. "At the same time," said Mr. Spindle, "we wanted to acknowledge the spirit embodied by Hubert and the role that Sam played in the rich history of Harris Bank." About Harris Bank Harris Bank is an integrated financial service organization providing more than 1.2 million personal, business and corporate clients with banking, lending, investing and wealth management solutions. The organization is a member of the BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), which also provides corporate and investment banking services in the U.S. under the BMO Capital Markets name. About Element 79 Founded in 2001, Element 79 is a part of Omnicom Group, Inc. A streamlined, highly efficient advertising agency, Element 79 creates business building brand idea platforms for its clients. Specializing in executing these ideas in both the digital/online arena and via traditional media, Element 79 is fully committed to helping its clients win by providing better creative solutions in a simpler, faster fashion. Clients include Alberto Culver, American Family Insurance, Amway, Central DuPage Hospital, Children's Memorial Hospital, Celebrity Cruises, ConAgra Foods, Harris Bank, Leap Wireless, Redbox and Supercuts. For more information, please visit http://www.element79.com/. Harris is a trade name used by various financial service subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Banking products and services are provided by Harris N.A., The Harris Bank, N.A. and their bank affiliates, Members FDIC. Brokerage products are offered through Harris Investor Services, Inc. (HIS), a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC-registered investment adviser. Insurance and annuities are offered through Harris Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc. (HBIS). Investment banking services are provided by BMO Capital Markets Corp. (BMOCM), a registered broker dealer and member NYSE, FINRA and SIPC. HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are affiliated companies and are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Products offered by HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are Not Insured by the FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by Any Bank or Bank Affiliate, May Lose Value. The purchase of insurance or an annuity is not a condition to any bank loan or service. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc., an SEC registered investment adviser. Family Office Services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services are offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC, a SEC-registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services to institutional clients are provided by Harris Investment Management (HIM), a SEC-registered investment adviser. Not all products and services are offered in every state and/or location. DATASOURCE: Harris Bank CONTACT: James Kappel of Harris Bank, +1-312-461-2478, ; or Leah Barrett of Element 79, +1-312-233-8254, Web Site: http://www.harrisbank.com/ http://www.element79.com/

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