Hasta La Creative!

Call me a weirdo, but for some reason I’m quite interested in financial advertising. I don’t know if it stems from having been an admin monkey in so many financial institutions in the past, the fact that Edinburgh is a hub for the industry or because I might have a slight mental imbalance. I know it’s not all this recession guff, because even back in the boom days I was still looking at financial ads with an unhealthy fascination.

I figured out a while ago that the reason I’m so interested in financial advertising is threefold:

1. Financial campaigns are usually boring or clichéd or ugly or irrelevant. Or all of the above.

2. Financial advertising has reams and reams of regulations and rules that it must abide by in order to be cleared and run.

3. Financial clients have rods up their arses when it comes to being creative.

So, when I see a financial ad that manages to overcome all three hurdles, it’s like celebrating a lottery win. Albeit it’s the three numbers in a line lottery win, not the jackpot scenario. But still.

The currently running Aviva campaign, of which I’ve seen several full-page press executions and a TV spot, resonates with me:

Of course, I don’t believe for a second that Aviva actually considers me an individual. Hell, I don’t consider people individuals and I’m just some lowly ad minion going about my daily business, so how a global corporation does is beyond me.

Even so, I like the sentiment of the campaign and the idea behind it even if it is all just a big load of twaddle. At least Aviva are trying to come across as personable, and that rings a bell with me. It’s like that colleague at work who obviously doesn’t like you, but still makes the effort to be decent and civil rather than rude and condescending. And that’s a start at least.

Claire Connachan is a copywriter based in Scotland. She does have a kilt, she does have freckles, she does eat haggis and she does love creative advertising. Read her Scottish ad blog to get a ginger, caber tossing perspective on the industry.