Harris Bank‘s “We’re Here to Help” branding campaign, courtesy of Element 79 Partners, just keeps getting better and better—and, by now, must be giving fits to other national and local banks in the Chicagoland area.

Who would have thunk a traditionally very conservative bank like Harris would be so dramatically outshining its banking brethren creatively with its increasingly attention-getting and even guerilla-like “We’re Here to Help” executions.

The most notable recent addition is just plain brilliant—a billboard headlined “Bank of Chicago” on the other side of the Kennedy Expressway (near the Addision exit) from a “Bank of America” video billboard soaring above a highway-hugging branch location.

Bank of America, which last year acquired LaSalle Bank and re-branded and re-”sign”ed all Chicago-area locations, is struggling to match the “homegrown” feel, reputation and position that Harris and a few other banks have long “owned” in the Chicago market.

It’s clear what Harris is doing here, and it must be working, as Harris appears to be competing very effectively against Bank of America, according to a May 30, 2008, Chicago Tribune article, titled, “Harris Bank gaining from LaSalle sale.”

In the interest of full disclosure, while our firm has had nothing to do with this campaign, we do business-to-business communications work for Harris. Mainly, we’re just admirers of the campaign and the interesting directions it has taken and is taking.

We do wonder why Element 79 Partners isn’t featuring its Harris work on its Web site. We would.