Two Very Different Banking Adverts

Here are two very different examples of advert for two of the leading UK banks. Lloyds TSB and Halifax could not have a more different image when it comes to their advertising.

The TSB advert shows a sixty second animation, showing the story of a couple and their life's journey on a train called The Black Horse, relating cleverly to the Lloyds TSB iconic black horse identity. We see the couple fall in love, get married, move into their home, have a child who grows up and the whole cycle begins again, with the couple waving their daughter off from the platform as she too embarks on her journey on The Black Horse.

The idea is simple, TSB is with you for your whole life, constantly there to help you on your way. It won an award for best computer animation in the British Television Advertising Craft Awards 2007, and rightly so, as the look of the piece is beautiful with each scene flowing, folding and collapsing itself gracefully into the next.

Halifax, however, have a slightly different approach. Which involves a bald, be-speckled fellow called Howard. Why ever Halifax chose to promote their bank with this all singing, all dancing nerd is unknown to me and the cringe-worthy montage of popular songs and banking lyrics, I feel gives Halifax a rather childish, jokey image which I'm sure is not what people want from one of the most well known banks in the UK. This advertising campaign is awful and because of it, I have made a conscious effort never to use Halifax as my bank.

I thought it would be interesting to see the comparison.