Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Positive bank campaigns

The last weeks there Australian ad agencies have created two interesting campaigns about financial services.

One is for an insurance company: Freedom means being well insured claims Swann Insurance in new TV spot via CumminsRoss who has put to air a new spot for Swann Insurance featuring motorcyclists enjoying freedom, knowing they're well insured. 

From Campaign Brief:   
The other campaign is from my favourite agency in Sydney, M&C Saatchi, who a couple of months ago won the Commowealth bank account and created a "Can" campaign. Unfortunately I can´t (!) watch all tv ads from Sweden due to some technical problem, but I´ve understood the campaign is focussed on possibilities, not fears. Read about the campaign here:
One part of the ad is a poem, read by the actress Toni Collette. 
An ode to Can
There's a four lettered word
As offensive as any
It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many.
You can't climb that mountain
You can't cross the sea
You can't become anything you want to be.
He can't hit a century
They can't find a cure.
She can't think about leaving
or searching for more.
Because can't is a word with a habit of stopping
The ebb and flow of ideas
It keeps dropping itself where we know
in our hearts it's not needed
And saying "don't go"
when we could have succeeded.
But those four little letters
That end with a T
They can change in an instant
When shortened to three.
We can take off the T
We can do it today
We can move forward not back
We can find our own way.
We can build we can run
We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull
We can say I'm someone
Who refuses to believe
That life can't be better
With the removal of one
Insignificant letter.
Too many financial service companies believe that if they only spook their customers enough, people will come running to protect themselves, but what actually happens in people´s brains when you fill them up with more negativity? They will most likely stick their head into the sand, trying to avoid and ignore you.

It´s like many in their private life run instead of communicate around a conflict... Instead of taking a fight, causing pain, feeling pain etc they slam the door and go for a drink. It´s human. It´s irrational. It´s just the way we work...

Why would we be so different when it comes to money? Money, cash, dollars... it´s an emotional area rather than a rational one. We all know what we should do, but we don´t. When a bank or insurance company tell us we are in trouble and should take responsibility, many will hate them rather than book a meeting with the financial planner. It´s human. It´s irrational. It´s just the way we work...

I once worked with a bank whose ad agency (I represented the media agency) wanted to create a campaign telling people they were unhappy and poor. They wanted pictures of people who had no money, copy about how irresponsible we all are yada yada. Psychologically that approach would have been a disaster for the bank. You can´t be loved if you´re the one lecturing, telling people they have failed!!!

I´m not sure it´s enough to show some dudes on motor bikes or say "yes, you can" like you were the president of America, but it´s a good start.

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