Westpac continues ‘Help’ campaign via DDB to support Australians separating from a partner
Westpac has launched the latest iteration of its help campaign via DDB Sydney, focusing on an issue many Australians face – separating from a partner.
Drawing on the brand’s commitment to helping Australians in the moments that matter, the campaign depicts the story of an Australian family going through a separation from the perspective of a young boy helping his parents navigate a difficult time in their lives.
The campaign has launched nationally across TV, print, digital, out of home and social.
Says Westpac Group Head of Brand, Advertising & Media, Jenny Melhuish: “Separating from a partner can be really hard, both emotionally and financially. 49 per cent of people put off looking into financial matters when they were separating, no doubt because it can feel incredibly overwhelming. We’ve been developing tangible help for our customers, and our campaign aims to highlight what we can do to relieve financial uncertainty.”
With three in five of those considering separating from a partner not knowing where to start, Westpac has created a hub to house a range of free, easy to use checklists and resources, developed with divorce experts, to help couples navigate a separation. There is also information about how Westpac can help by giving its customers breathing space through payment relief and access to low interest funds to help them get back up on their feet.
Says DDB creative partner Noah Regan: “Separation was the most difficult life moment to tackle so far. Like so many Australian families, most of the team had experienced the deep emotional pain and financial strain of divorce. We put a lot of heart into it and I feel we’ve told the story with the sensitivity and heart it deserves. We’re blessed to have such a brave and visionary client to push us to create this sort of work.”
Adds DDB Australia CEO Andrew Little: “The continuation of help is beautifully represented by this latest campaign. The work that the Westpac team have done to deliver real help to customers going through separation, and their investment in long format storytelling to address an important issue, is remarkable. This is my favourite campaign in the help series so far.”
Creative: DDB Sydney
Chief Creative Officer: Ben Welsh
Executive Creative Director: Tara Ford
Head of Art: Noah Regan
Creative Partner: Matt Chandler
Senior Art Director: Richard Apps
Senior Copywriter: Jeff Galbraith
Head of Integrated Production: Sevda Cemo
Managing Partner: Chiquita King
Group Account Director: Topher Jones
Senior Business Director: Sarah Gardan
Business Manager: Bianca Cohn
Head of Planning: Dom Hickey
Senior Planner: James Davis
Production Company: Exit Films
Director: Garth Davis
Executive Producer: Leah Churchill Brown
Producer: Karen Sproul
Edit Facility: The Butchery
Editor: Jack Hutchings
Sound: Song Zu
Sound engineer: Abigail Sie
Post Production: ALT VFX
VFX Post Supervisor: Dave Edwards
VFX Post Producer: Adrianna Spanos
Music Supervision: Level Two Music
Music Supervisor: Karl Richter
Casting: Kirsty McGregor CGA CSA and Gemma Brown CGA
Media: Media Lab
Public Relations: Map and Page
Client: Westpac
Jenny Melhuish, Westpac Group Head of Brand, Advertising & Media
Melanie Portelli, Acting Head of Advertising
Shannon Jenkin, Senior Manager, Westpac Advertising
Toby Dewar, Head of Media and Agency Management
Carly Boyle, Director of Media Planning
48 Comments
Emotional branding built around life moments. Smart, real and well done.
Westpac and DDB are showing every client in Australia right now how to build a brand in the toughest of environments. The article today in The Australian by Mark Ritson is a great summation of just that. The quality of the storytelling is also attracting the best directors in the world too. Well done to all.
Whatever the big banks think, think the opposite.
I went to Westpac for a loan after my divorce and was told to ‘come back maybe when you get remarried.’
BRAVO!
great work, Jeff and Rich!
Bizarre we live in a world where a ‘music supervisor’ gets credit over the actual musicians who make the music. Sad.
then again who wants credit for someone who sounds like Michael Jackson doing Landslide.
Your whole ‘Help’ premise is severely flawed. You (banks) are the antithesis of an entity that helps others, and the public hates you for it everyday. To stick your head in the sand and continue making films that only raise the ire of your pissed-off customers even more is insanity.
PS And you finally decide to cast a black family because it’s an ad about family separation? Wow.
It’s ‘every day’ you fucking moron.
I love this. Not sure I believe them but the spot is awesome.
A lovely story, well told. Nice ones Jeffa!
A great strategy, and beautiful creative work. Well done guys.
Our pain is your pleasure!
Awesome work guys! So refreshing to see beautifully crafted stories back on our screens.
one of the most beautiful tracks that stevie nicks and lindsay buckingham recorded.
So families break up…. let’s try and make some money out of that shall we?
Have they separated because of the financial strain from out-of-cycle rate rises, with the banks citing increased borrowing costs to cover for the need to pay exorbitant, unwarranted bonuses?
Thanks for the equal representation. It’s not always like that you know.
nicely shot, but great storytelling usually goes somewhere and is more than just a slice of life. ikea did divorce way better and had a lovely product related twist.
When a handful of videos on a website become a proofpoint.
Didn’t the kiwis make this same spot last year?
Well done to all involved. Beautiful storytelling.
Excellent story telling.
Look and learn.
Viney’s back
Refreshing to see real craft – what a brilliant ad!
whσ ѕíngѕ lαndѕlídє σn thíѕ αd
I to would like to know who the vocalist is. Great story that grabs the heartstrings
Who is singing this amazing song
Who is the artist that actually sings the song “Landslide”
A bad mistake, in trying to be inclusive it looks like dark skinned people can’t hold a marriage together. Intentions backfired
The singer is Conrad Sewell for those that want to know..
Great cast, music. Beautifully shot. I just don’t know where the story goes. Is there a part 2??
Geoff thank you I thought so. I was here trying to search for the singer haha. Seeing him in june hope he sings this then. Such a beautiful voice
The boy in this spot is too self-aware and disingenuous. The other characters are good. Ruined it for me.
Agree wholeheartedly. Storytelling in ads requires some kind of story arc. It needs to take us on a journey then reward, surprise and delight us somehow. Rather than, kid lives with his single mum and then stays at dads on weekend, roll credits…
This looks familiar
The first time we see an entire black family on a TV ad and they are chosen to represent the “broken family”. Not cool.
@so what
In regards to the story going nowhere, I think, in this day and age, you can consider the fact that the father isn’t the one-dimensional bad guy a twist.
This really feels like someone’s trying to make you cry and not in a good way. The licensed track choice is so heavy handed & overwrought, even if the voice is good. Can we step away from licensed music for a while cos it’s making the ad feel cheap and contrived. Cashing in on an artist’s creative cache feels like the agency is getting 51% of their creative direction done for them.
Brilliant strategy and brilliant execution. Such authenticity in a target market so poorly represented.
I can’t believe a brand can try so hard and fail on so many levels.
Ripe for the pisstake, and I hope to see them coming.
Unfortunately no
I feel for the guys, they must have their jobs under threat to be posting so many positive comments about their own work.
When you look at the spot in its entirety, it is a beautifully crafted ‘so what?’. There’s nothing emotional about this, even though they’ve cloaked it in emotion. Even though they engaged one of the world’s best directors, it still falls flat.
Why?
The script. It’s shit. Not sure why Garth agreed to it.
Goes to show, money can buy you happiness, but it can’t buy you a good ad.
This is advertising at its best. When I showed my wife she burst into tears. Well done to all involved, I’m jealous AF.
Feeling vulnerable? Our household debt overextension can help.
Let’s emotionally manipulate the vulnerable in our society and pretend we’re their friends. The big banks know exactly what they’re doing here – hire a director that made a popular film about poverty. Yuck.
Really well made, beautifully shot of course. But the deeper motive makes me feel a little sick. Anyone else?
I really don’t understand why you’ve chosen to use a black family who have broken up and need money? What other adverts have you used a black family on? Not cool.
Wonderful ad , does anyone know where the footage was filmed ?
Great ad who is the black father?