Campaign Review: Bank of Queensland and Kayo tell their jokes

Brand: Bank of Queensland

Campaign: ‘Never Home Loan Alone’ 

Agency: The Inside Job

The verdict: Quirky and light-hearted, but doesn’t connect with or reflect on the brand and product well

Ilona Janashvili, head of strategy at Leo Burnett, gave it a 6.5/10, saying:

It’s not easy to sell home loans and be distinctive about it. BOQ is taking the viewer on a home buying journey set in a critical auction moment that many can relate to. It’s a high stakes situation, whereby the viewer is rallying for the relatable protagonists. Queue in the BOQ service team that bring in the wacky and undesirable neighbour that will ultimately eliminate the bidding competition (whom we instinctively don’t like) and clear the runway for the young couple to secure their home. Yay!

This doesn’t break new ground and it borrows many familiar (and stereotypical) characters and story tropes; however, I think the use of humour is a good call. It’s just the right amount and it feels authentic to the BOQ brand, the takeaway is that it creates the perception that BOQ (and its people) are willing to go above and beyond to help their customers secure their home. At the heart of this is a people and service message and that having someone looking out for your best interests, especially if you’re a younger/first home buyer can be useful and motivating. The line, ‘Never home loan alone’, encapsulates that service promise.

Only time will tell if a service-based-message will be effective for BOQ, one that’s facing more stringent lending conditions, rising inflation, creeping interest rates and mounting cost of living pressures. I know that as a home loan customer, I want my bank to be with me for the longer-term journey, being proactive and useful in many different ways, not just at the start.

Chris Dwyer, creative lead at The Works, gave it a 3/10, saying:

Banks always seem to struggle to establish a positive purpose, with both functional and emotional executions often failing to genuinely connect. Today it seems empowerment and ‘the wingman’ approach are in full force and these spots fall smack bang into the middle of that strategy.

I can appreciate the sentiment that is trying to be achieved – that BOQ has our backs by going to quirky efforts in order to help us achieve our dreams. But sadly, it all just feels very cookie cutter. The staging is awkward, the concept forced and I was left feeling somewhat indifferent. There is a strong sense of distrust towards Banks with the majority of people seeing them as fake and soulless, and unfortunately spots like these tend to reinforce that ‘artificial’ narrative.

I do applaud the campy, quirky approach, but unfortunately the result is yet another interchangeable bank ad, leaving me without any real understanding of who BOQ are.

Tim Collier, head of integrated strategy & planning at Connecting Plots, gave it a 6/10, saying:

We, ‘the ad-peoples’, love solving problems. We sit around all day, drooling, just thinking about juicy audience problems our clients’ products could solve. The problems whisper to us softly, please come solve us. And finding a great problem to solve makes us feel ✧･ﾟ*✧･ﾟmagical ✧･ﾟ*✧･ﾟ

But if the clients’ product doesn’t actually solve the problem, should we let that stand in our way? This is the conundrum of the newest Bank of Queensland advertisement.

It makes perfect sense. Rich old white man with a salmon blazer that matches his fake tan outbids a young relatable couple, brimming with optimism, on the hunt for a house. It’s so relatable. It feels so real. Because it is real. Thousands of young people ready to buy a house get outbid, gazumped and excluded from the property market every Saturday as hammers go down all over the country.

Bank of Queensland’s proposition is that they can help, with expert advice and… covert con artistry, artfully planted nudists and double kicking demon drummers.

However, while I am sure BOQ has great advice for home buyers and a fantastic mortgage product, they do not actually help the disenfranchised first home buyers compete with investors and boomers (who are using the exact same products and services…) in the race for a home.

This ad is a funny, nicely executed video that has a great insight, just not one the brand actually solves. The gag ends up being that you are reminded of the problem and given a fake solution.

Brand: Kayo Sports

Campaign: ‘What Happens’

Agency: Special

The verdict: A great spot with memorable humour, but a lot is happening with the plot

Ilona gave it an 8.5/10, saying:

A fun and fast-paced tale of what happens when you fail to view an all-important cricket match, streamed live on Kayo. It’s a story of substantial and hilarious consequences endured by one unassuming fan that didn’t have Kayo and missed watching the match. The narrative centres on social alienation, owning the feeling of being cast out by society at large and more importantly the ones you love and trust the most – your parents!

Using a social construct with consequences of the fallout only elevates the role of Kayo and its true benefit. It’s a classic problem-solution but done with flair.

Executionally, the memorable humour, solid craft, and a solid pace, makes the final resolution sweeter. The male protagonist and his family are cast to reflect the core cricketing viewing audience and sets up the notion that live sports is a social activity. Finally, but not vital to the story, is the added sprinkle of a few cricketing greats.

This one’s for the cricketing fans and the non-fans alike. Good. Fun.

Chris gave it an 8/10, saying:

In a world full of endless streaming subscription services, it’s becoming more and more difficult to choose between seemingly similar content. So rather than focusing on the specific offerings of the platform, the use of FOMO seems like a fresher approach here.

Kayo clearly understand their audience and the relatability of missing the big game feels perfectly aimed at the jugular of any sports fanatic. But there is a lot going on in this spot. Any edit moving this fast runs the risk of the focus being lost, however, the timing and performance made it an enjoyable watch, even if a second viewing was needed to truly land the idea.

The risk of this spot being confused for Fox or Stan Sport is quickly dissolved halfway in, when the Kayo brand takes over. Heavy-handed branding like this often has the tendency to feel forced, but it doesn’t feel out of place here. It’s a clever use of positioning the brand as an additional and integral character in the unfolding story. And I appreciate the single-minded T20 focus, rather than trying to get bang-for-your-buck by cramming in every other sports licence they offer.

The idea and mix of visual treatment in each scene is great and the casting is exceptional. Overall, it’s a fun spot that ended with a bang and left me with a smile.

Tim gave it a 7/10, saying:

Is it better for an advertisement to bring to life a benefit or to look at the consequence of inaction? This latest ad for Kayo spends a lot of time looking at the consequences of not using their service, but something strikes me strangely.

I mean, the worst thing that could happen to me, as “a big sports fan”… when I’m getting around town in the jersey of my favourite team… on the night of a game of my favourite team… is missing the game, and EVEN WORSE having people make fun of me for it.

Jesus H Christ, I’M JUST TRYING TO LIVE MY LIFE and now my parents have embraced David Warner as their favourite son. All because I missed the big game.

This doesn’t really add up for me.

People tend to take actions that reflect their personal priorities. So, if you care about sports, it would follow that you won’t miss a game. Kayo is a product that definitely enables its users to never miss out, but it’s not really the most compelling selling point, particularly if the audience is, as represented in the ad, a big sports fan.

This ad ticks all of the boxes I imagine were in the brief; make sure people know Kayo is the online streaming partner of the T20 World Cup; make sure people know that’s cricket; have fun with the tone; make sure Kayo is the hero. The issue is that twenty seconds of the ad is dedicated to dramatising (hilariously, but still) the consequences of a problem that wouldn’t really be an issue. Sport lovers aren’t going to miss the games they love, not because they don’t have Kayo, but because they are sports lovers.

Also I minused a point because the sell-in deck for this idea definitely said FOMO.

As told to Darcy Song, filling in for Kalila Welch. If you’re a senior creative or strategist who would like to take part in a future Campaign Review, please email Kalila at kwelch@mumbrella.com.au.

Got a tip?

Darcy Song

Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.

Linkedin

topics Bank Of Queensland Campaign Review Chris Dwyer Connecting Plots Ilona Janashvili kayo Leo Burnett The Works Tim Collier

Share Tweet Share

Have your say

Login with:

Continue with LinkedIn

or

Comment anonymously

Your comment will be marked as unverified

Name

Comment

Δ