American Express Offers Five Free iTunes on Facebook

American Express is combining Facebook and Apple's iTunes platform in a campaign pitching five free song downloads. To participate, consumers must purchase five songs with an American Express card before it refunds their account.

The campaign launched on Feb. 10 and runs through March 15. It is being pushed with Facebook.com ads (see image), Promoted Tweets on Twitter, and banner ads on "key music sites," Leslie Berland, Amex spokesperson, told ClickZ. Viewers who click the ads are directed to a Facebook landing page where they can learn about the offer and sign up for a credit card.

Debuting the campaign around Sunday's Grammy Awards was by design, Berland suggested. "During a very music-relevant time of year, we wanted to give [card members] a great perk that highlights the value and benefits we provide when you use your American Express card online," she said.

Amex has long sought to align itself with music. In one example, the New York-based company struck a deal with label-owned music video site Vevo last July. The credit card company became the sponsor of five live-streamed performances by artists like Arcade Fire and John Legend in a series dubbed "Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express." And since Q2 last year, it has leveraged multiple music tie-ins to promote its "Zync" card aimed at people in their 20s and 30s.