Epoch Films has produced a series of three dry-humoured ads for the mobile banking platform Current. Each film delivers on the promise of Current’s mission: moving you forward, never holding you back. Director Matt Swanson cleverly illustrates this point in a myriad of ways with increasing absurdity and quick delivery.
Matt uses playful commentary, deadpan delivery, and visual gags to poke fun at the outdated practices still in play at traditional banks. The subtle jokes play to the audience’s intelligence rather than patronising them, honing in on Current’s key demographic: smart bankers who don’t take themselves too seriously and are ready for a change in antiquated financial practices.
Matt expertly plays at the already-funny script with increasingly extreme imagery to deftly land the jokes. In ‘Backwards,’ two friends jog - literally backwards - while noting how backwards overdraft fees are. ‘Hacks’ shows two chefs remarking on the nonsensical brutality of credit fees while pulverising meat and chopping food. The two yogis in ‘Twisted’ remark on how twisted it is that banks hold on to your paycheck before releasing funds to make money off it while twisting themselves into more extreme yoga poses throughout.
Director Matt Swanson said of this memorable campaign, “Who hasn’t felt personally victimised by their bank? The scripts instantly resonated with me for personal reasons, but the style of humour they were going for was right up my alley as a filmmaker. I loved how granular the creative was, so I wanted to focus on delivering the most specific and considered distillations of each script as possible.”