Contagion headed to Wall Street to promote Harmoney’s peer-to-peer lending, asking money lenders on New York’s most infamous lending street… wait, no they didn’t. They went to a quieter Wall Street in Hamilton, New Zealand, instead.
To show the brand is ‘Kiwi with money’, a 30-second TVC quickly whisks away an image of NYC, replacing it with a suburban Hamilton street to contrast neighbours lending a hand with the preconceived notions of money hungry Wall Street dwellers. It shows how the brand shares no comparison to banks or other lending institutions, as it even shuts the door on ‘fat cat foreign bankers’, which in this case is a homely kitty.
“We all felt the affects of the foreign Wall Street bankers a few years ago,” says Harmoney general manager Monica Mathis. “Contagion’s pitch-winning strategy, which we are now implementing, aims to show that New Zealand no longer needs to look overseas for financial support.”
The campaign urges Kiwis to consider that if we are good enough to lend things to one another, we should be just as comfortable with lending money. In doing so, it’s hoped Kiwis will understand everyday people can lend cash, not just the banks and money hungry lenders.
“We can help each other by lending and borrowing locally, to and from people just like you and I,” adds Mathis. “Our Wall Street is made up of hard working Kiwis who want to invest and progress, right from their own homes.”
Contagion executive creative director Bridget Taylor says although peer-to-peer lending is relatively new, the behavior behind it is not. “Our challenge was to demonstrate this in an easy to understand, engaging way and this was a wonderful challenge,” she says.
The TVC is supported by digital touchpoints, with banner adverts that share the brand’s orange colour and stick with the lending hand visuals to say “why not” lend cash for someone to have their own car, holiday or even dream.
Credits:
Creative team: Bridget Taylor, Verity Dookia, Avril Durkan, Ru Haworth, Nic Edmonds
Account management: James Cameron, Joseph Rassmussen
Planning: Dean Taylor, Ryan Jordan
Media: Suzie Thompson, Nureete Burnie
Production company: Film Construction
Director: Georgie Taylor
Producer: Valentine Taylor
Executive Producer: Patrick McAteer
Sound: Big Pop
