Ad of the Day: HSBC recruits Richard Ayoade to underline how borders hinder opportunity
Physical, attitudinal and cultural borders can act as barriers to opportunity, and HSBC wants to overcome these hurdles with its new campaign featuring British comedian Richard Ayoade.
The new spot, created by Wunderman Thompson, marks the launch of the bank’s new global purpose drive and explores how society can overcome certain hurdles and create new possibilities together.
Throughout the 60-second ad, we see Ayoade using a traditional white line marker to underline issues within society around equal opportunities, such as racism and gender inequality.
In the final message at ‘Land’s Edge’, just one of the borders where the UK meets the rest of the world, Ayoade says: “But in the end, they tend to get in the way of possibility... because, when we see beyond borders, we see opportunity everywhere.”
The film will be supported by TV assets, out-of-home (OOH), digital out-of-home (DOOH) and print ads, which will include headlines such as ‘Love knows no borders’, ‘Ethnicity should never be a barrier to opportunity’ and ‘When we see beyond borders, we see opportunity everywhere’.
“The UK’s future opportunities need to be different to its past. The country and its people have so much to offer and achieve if we can level the playing field and create equal opportunity for all,” said Mike Watson, creative director at Wunderman Thompson. “The campaign reflects the nation’s desire for change and helps highlight that HSBC isn’t too big to care, but rather that it’s big enough to help make a difference.”
