Tony Kaye Gets Inked for the Right Reasons in Intense Co-op Bank Spot

The Co-operative Bank today starts its fight back to restore trust in its brand and to remind customers what it stands for with a major advertising campaign which aims to attract customers to the Bank ‘for all the right reasons’. Based around the Bank’s customer-led Ethical Policy, launched in 1992 and still the only one of its kind, it follows the Bank’s history of hard-hitting campaigns that aim to highlight what sets it apart from other banks.  

 

The new through-the-line brand campaign follows an in-depth brand positioning study, alongside comprehensive consumer testing and research by the Bank, set to excite and engage customers, consumers and colleagues, and signal to all that the Bank is fighting back. 

 

The TV ad is directed by advertising legend, Tony Kaye and the music is composed by Oscar-winning musician, Anne Dudley, who also scored Les Miserables. The wider campaign encompasses TV, cinema, press, radio, outdoor and digital channels and sees the use of strong symbols including skulls and waste drums to illustrate the Bank’s commitment to this existing Ethical Policy which has seen it turn away over £1bn of business.

 

Devised with Arc London, the TV ad, which was first aired on Sky Sports 1 (Champions League) and on ITV during Coronation Street, features a man so moved by the Bank’s absolute commitment to upholding its Ethical Policy that he is driven to have the words ‘Ethics & Values’ tattooed on his back, while telling us “I belong to an organisation that does things a little differently”.

 

Steve Britain, Commercial Director of the Co-operative Bank said: “This advertising campaign is the start of reinvesting in what makes our brand and our business distinct from competitors with thought-provoking images and creative treatments.  It goes back to our heritage of tackling hard-hitting issues that matter to our customers and where a bank can make a difference in the world. Our Ethical Policy sits centre stage in the campaign and reinforces our commitment to it and to the wider values and ethics that remain at our heart of why customers choose to bank with us. We want to say to both new and existing customers; if you want an ethical bank then we still remain the bank of choice for you.

 

“The Co-operative Bank was founded on the principles of the co-operative movement and for more than 20 years has been the first and only bank to adopt a customer- led ethical policy.  We understand that the difficulties the Bank has faced in the last year are bound to test customers’ beliefs, but now the Bank is stronger we want to reassure them that we have not forgotten the values and ethics that set us apart and remain a key part of our success in the future. There are many things going on in the world today which reinforce why our stance on oppressive regimes, the environment, and other aspects of our Ethical Policy are just as relevant now as they were in 1992.”

 

The Bank has invested £5.5 million in the campaign which spans off and online media,with a national and broad regional focus. The campaign re-launches the Bank following its Values and Ethics Poll in June where over 74,000 customers, colleagues and wider stakeholders shared their views on what should be included in the Bank’s Ethical Policy in the future. Customers stated overwhelmingly that the Bank must retain its existing pledges which ensure that customers’ money does not finance companies and organisations whose activities conflict with their ethical concerns.

 

In branches, a new manifesto will be positioned prominently in branch windows, to explain why the Co-operative Bank is “not your usual bank” to demonstrate the importance of how its Ethical Policy “gives us a different approach to who we do business with and who we support”.

Additionally, the Bank’s owned media includes its digital estate, seeing the launch of a social media campaign including a Facebook page.

Peter Frankental, Economic Relations Programme Director at Amnesty International UK said:  “Amnesty International welcomes the Co-operative Bank's very public commitment to its Ethical Policy through the advertising campaign it is launching and its renewed commitment to keep human rights at the heart of its business. Not many companies have such deep-rooted values and convictions that they are prepared to turn down business opportunities to steer clear of human rights violations.  We will continue to develop our long-standing partnership with the Co-operative Bank, recognising that for many years its enlightened approach has provided a beacon for the rest of the finance sector.”

The Ethical Policy is being developed with independent review partner, the Institute of Public Policy Research, who have analysed the poll’s findings and facilitated a detailed consultation process with key stakeholder groups and campaigning organisations. The new Policy to be announced in the Autumn will mark the fifth update of the Ethical Policy since the Co-operative Bank adopted it in 1992. It will also include pledges beyond who the Bank will and won’t provide services to, addressing customers’ desire to see how values and ethics can be embedded across many other different aspects of how the Bank does business.