Bank of New Zealand is one of New Zealand’s ‘big’ four banks.

But that was the problem. People weren’t distinguishing BNZ as anything special from the others.

We were tasked with creating and launching a unique leadership position, communicated in an interesting and disruptive way.

In New Zealand, like most of the world, bank advertising is mostly boring. However the subject of money is fascinating… so we decided to stimulate a conversation on money.

We ran two unbranded 60 second films on television for two weeks, one suggesting money is bad, the other good.

The impact was immediate and speculation was rife… but we managed to keep the identity of the brand secret (even from the bank’s 5000 employees) until the third film aired, combining the first two to sate our point of view.

It was critical that the role be non New Zealander and possess an omnipresent objectivity. The performance ability needed to be so nuanced between the "money is good" and "money is bad" versions. The role was offered to more famous actors however their relative fame and the baggage that comes with it, removed that distinct POV the director and agency wanted. Finding this actor made it all piece together.