Westpac launches latest ‘Help’ campaign via DDB Sydney in support of small business owners
Drawing on the brand’s promise to help Australians in the moments that matter, Westpac has launched the next phase of its Help campaign via DDB Sydney, with a focus on providing much needed support for small business owners across Australia.
Set to the soundtrack of The Masters Apprentices classic Because I Love You remade by Amy Shark, the campaign tells the story of a couple who have emigrated to Australia and open a small business out of necessity, but grow to treasure it for the life and opportunity it gives their family.
The new campaign coincides with the launch of Westpac’s ‘help when it matters’ logo, cementing the brand’s ongoing commitment to providing tangible help to customers when and where it matters to them.
Says Jenny Melhuish, head of brand, advertising and media, Westpac Group: “Our latest campaign brings to life the sheer dedication, challenges and rewards faced by small business owners of today. For many, when operating a family business, it becomes a focal part of that family’s life – the ups and the downs.
“We recognise that there are a myriad of challenges that can come along with operating a small business. Westpac has developed a new online hub with a range of support to help Australians start, grow and maintain a small business – from practical tools and resources for employment and cash flow needs, to products and services that help businesses and staff get paid faster.”
Says Matt Chandler, creative partner, DDB Sydney: “This epic story of grit and sacrifice was a privilege to make. It really pays homage to so many small business owners with similar stories to that of the central character Ali; people who have set out on their own to build a life for their families. We count ourselves incredibly lucky to have such brilliant clients and production partners who make work like this possible.”
The campaign launches nationally across TV, radio, digital, out of home and social, from Sunday, 2nd June.
For more information on how Westpac can support Australian businesses, visit the Westpac Business hub: Westpac.com.au/businesshub.
Client: Westpac
Jenny Melhuish, Head of Brand, Advertising & Media, Westpac Group
Sam Viney, Head of Advertising, Westpac
Toby Dewar, Head of Media and Agency Management
Carly Boyle, Director of Media Planning
Amber Joyce, Senior Advertising Manager, Westpac
Sian Chadwick, Head of Business Experience, Westpac Business
Anna MacFarlane, Head of Business Marketing, Westpac Business
Alice Pears, Senior Marketing Manager, Westpac Business
Brooke Carter, Senior Marketing Manager, Westpac Business
Magdalena Sikora, Marketing Manager, Westpac Business
Creative Agency: DDB
CCO: Ben Welsh
ECD: Tara Ford
Head of Art: Noah Regan
Creative Partner: Matt Chandler
Art Director: Noah Regan
Copywriter: Matt Chandler
Designer: Paul Jansen
Head of Integrated Content: Sevda Cemo
Lead Senior Producer: Tash Johnson
Managing Partner: Chiquita King / Sasha Firth
Group Account Director: Topher Jones
Senior Business Director: Kirsty Smith
Business Manager: Fabrizia Violante
Chief Strategy Officer: Carl Ratcliff
Head of Planning: Dom Hickey
Senior Planner: James Davis
Production Company: 3&7
Director: Steve Ayson
Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson
Producer: Julianne Shelton
Edit Facility: The Butchery
Editor: Jack Hutchings
Sound: Song Zu
Sound Engineer: Abigail Sie
Post Production: Blockhead VFX
Music Supervision: Karl Ritcher
Casting: Peta Einberg Casting & Nick Hamon Casting
Media: Media Lab
Public Relations: Map and Page
48 Comments
Proper story telling
Has never looked finer.
Lovely work…
Beautiful work team well done.
Very good ad
Very good.
Could so easily have been a fuckboring doco of real business people talking. But it’s great.
the earnest cover version thing is tired.
Lovely ad. The track is the only low point.
Got me right in the feelings. Bravo.
Interesting to compare this to the Heart Foundation ad last week. Both had the same essential approach: do it for your family. But what a difference in impact and emotion and charm. Well done, Ben and team. I only wish there was a 90.
Matt, Noah, is that you?
Behold, a 90: https://youtu.be/wUnKwWKi8OA
Oh please! Same old same same old.That track is dire and super cynical.
Similar insight, idea, tone and execution. They must have known.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrfyp8P7twU
Did no one at DDB see this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrfyp8P7twU
Poop.
How far the sentiment of this ad is from the reality of the the mainstream national narrative on refugees and asylum seekers.
I really liked it.
The ageing of the guy is awesome
Two of Australia’s biggest brands NRMA & Westpac both = help. Why???
Really good on so many levels.
Well done by all involved.
Great ad. Should win awards
You see that ludicrous display last night?
What was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on that early?
Thing about Arsenal is, they always try and walk it in.
Shows you how much The Monkeys and NRMA love the hype and love pushing out average work that they think is great.
Then comes this beautiful piece of work.
Is the message: “Come to Australia, throw your doctor career away and be a baker. We’re here to help.”?
No this wont win any awards and why is there a helicopter sound effect over the logo in the end?
Most overseas Doctors qualifications are not recognised here. Many have to go back to university. The ad beautifully picks up on the personal struggle and striving.
Reminds me of the great NAB Many Rivers To Cross campaign done by Chris Dewey when at George Patts.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I think this is the version people are referring too.
https://www.ccv.adobe.com/v1/player/ccv/3bi47FyHttq/embed?bgcolor=%23191919&lazyLoading=true
It already picked up at AWARD, so hopefully next year’s judges will keep that in mind when looking at this one.
@ Please explain,
NRMA have been about HELP ever since I can remember. The platform was first developed at Saatchi’s Sydney way back when Jane Caro was there.
This classic: https://youtu.be/IMYHOMPXZYM
And this to name a few: https://vimeo.com/38898180
Credit to the Monkeys for keeping something that has worked for so long.
Disappointed in DDB for taking the lazy approach considering a few of the people working on the Westpac account there also worked on the NRMA account back at Saatchi’s.
The HELP strategy was the work of Ned Scott when Saatchi pitched for NRMA in about 1990 and won the account along with Dooley Buchanan. It was brilliant then, and still is now. Which makes it such a travesty that Westpac have appropriated it rather than come up with their own. No executional excess can disguise that.
Dear S&S,
Just for the record, you’re not suggesting Jane Caro created the NRMA/HELP campaign are you?
I don’t think Jane would ever do that.
. love this and made me cry.
Preferred CGU’s take on it. Better soundtrack and felt more believable.
So, why did Ali ditch his doctor’s career when he arrived in Australia?
What?
Cause he wasn’t allowed to practice medicine when he got here?
Really!
Sorry, but this is such a distraction to the story, it takes over the story.
Um, this isn’t a distraction to the story. It IS the story. I hate to patronize you by spelling it out, but you might have noticed that many parents who immigrate to Australia give up their profession because it is/was too hard to get accredited here in Australia. Dentists, Engineers, Doctors, Accountants. Talk to taxi drivers, people who own laundromats, etc, and it’s a very common tale. I don’t think Westpac are advocating for people to give up their profession, they’re merely reflecting the reality that people do.
What a magic ad, this is how storytelling is done well!
Not having your qualifications recognised is common for migrants. Particularly if you’re a doctor. Lovely little story. Great perfomance from Dad.
@Logic Flaw
It works the other way around, too. If an Aussie doctor wants to move overseas and practice medicine, the retraining and accreditation issue is generally a nightmare. It’s not too bad in the UK, which is why there are lots of Aussie docs over there and vice versa.
Well done
Storytelling is king.
Wonderful, but the make-up job at the last scene really threw me. I guess it’s as good as it gets around here, but did that shot need to be so long, brightly lit and close up?
Somebody get the Baker of Beirut an art director that knows typography.
They guy in the CGU ad hauled more than just paint around in his van….. allegedly…
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/face-of-tv-campaign-promoting-small-business-charged-over-alleged-drug-syndicate-20190221-p50zak.html
Holy shit. Well that will have voided his insurance.
I swung by and he doesn’t do gluten free. As a former doctor he should know better…
Well done DDB. First you take the Monkeys NRMA ‘help’ positioning and then you go and take The Monkeys CGU film idea. The nerve to do both in 1 ad is awesome. No shame. Love it.
…to the Australian ad industry because this downright awful. Rock bottom.
best ad on tv. exception to the other rubbish dished up
Our country might take you in as a refugee, and if you’re lucky, we won’t recognise your medical accreditation and force you into unskilled labour so that you can actually feed your displaced family a proper meal. And if you’d like to be paid more than minimum wage, Westpac sees you as the “entrepreneurial” type, and will finance your (desperate) ambition to be regain some semblance of control and order in your traumatic life with a small business loan, laden with fees and interest rates, because we’re really nice and charitable. Hey everyone, look how nice and charitable we are. Could we interest you in a small business loan?