Yeah, but no, but yeah, but…
I love the new campaign for Blighty’s Nationwide Building Society.
They’ve used some of the least ‘acceptable’ characters from the British comedy hit, ‘Little Britain’, to bring to life their ‘Proud to be Different’ catch cry – Andy, Vicky Pollard and the ‘ladies’, Florence Rose and Emily Howard.
It’s real, bloody funny and an ace example of smart celebrity endorsement!
I’d argue there are two reasons the campaign works so well.
The first is the line/character match – an obvious win, since all the characters are definitely ‘proud to be different’.
The second is the values match.
As a building society, Nationwide is about its people, the owners.
Their values – giving you value and fairness, making it easier to do business with us, meeting all your financial needs, supporting the community and listening to you – are ‘battler’ values, ‘for the people, by the people’ stuff.
Again, they’ve matched the characters to these beautifully - who’s more ‘battler’ than Vicky, Andy, and yes, even the ladies (who just want to get on with their ‘womanly’ lives!).
And if you thought they were all words and campaigns, you’ll be pleased to know they bring their ‘for the people’ promise to life, with initiatives like equipping all branches with ‘Helping Hands Units’ that include items such as magnifiers, an easy-grip pen, and cheque templates, to help members with disabilities.
Andy would appreciate that I’m sure!
