The scenario itself—sitting across the desk from a bank loan officer—is inherently stressful for the customer. But this time, it’s the banker who appears perplexed and uneasy—and at first, we’re not sure why.
"You’re both applying for a loan together?" asks the banking professional. "This is like a business partnership or something?"
A close-up of the bank officer gives way to the camera revealing a young man on the opposite side of the desk. The loan applicant responds on behalf of his yet-to-be-seen partner. "We’re a couple. We live together."
The banker still struggles with the concept. "As…"
We see that the loan applicants are a same-sex couple.
"… a couple?" stutters the banker.
A supered graphic against a solid-colored background reads, "Now there’s a more welcoming financial world."
We return to the office as the applicants reach across their separate chairs to hold hands, which puts the banker beside himself, obviously unable to deal with the situation. On his desk is a framed photograph, presumably of himself, his wife and child. This typical family picture underscores his discomfort with the real-life photo before him: two men who are building a family life for themselves. The banker’s uneasiness clearly spreads to the gay couple.
Closing graphics bring the message into perspective as the identity of the advertiser is revealed: The Gay Financial Network, at www.gfn.com, which provides financial news, mortgages, and insurance and investment services.
The :30 titled "Nervous Banker" was conceived by a team at New York agency Mad Dogs & Englishmen that included creative director Nick Cohen, art director/writer Jaimie Palmiotti, writer James Robinson, producer Sandy Bachom and account planner Spencer Baim.
Cohen explained that the goal was for the advertising "to be entertaining and truthful at the same time, by sending out a message that would be welcomed by both the straight and gay communities. We wanted the straight world to say, ‘Good Lord, is that how it is?’ and the gay community to say, ‘Thank you so very much.’"
To understand the challenges that gay people can confront in the world of finance, two pairs of heterosexual ad team members posed as gay couples and visited various banks in New York to apply for a joint mortgage. As expected, the bankers’ reactions to the couples and their financial needs were confused, unprepared and uncomfortable.
"We put ourselves in the shoes of a gay couple to experience it firsthand. Nothing beats that," related Baim. "We thought that the whole experience would be uncomfortable for us, and it was, but the thing that hit us most was how hard it was for the banker … This influenced the way we created our advertising."
"Nervous Banker" was directed by Jeffrey Fleisig of bicoastal Villains. His support team at Villains included executive producer Robin Benson and line producer Eric Liekefet. The spot was shot on location by DP Paul Goldsmith.
Red Car/New York played a prominent role, with an ensemble of talent that included editor Jerry Fried, online editor Tom Tortoriello and audio engineer Michael Pilizer. Mikah Kirz of Nice Shoes, New York, served as colorist. Music was composed by freelancer Hugh McCracken.
"Nervous Banker" debuted last month in New York and San Francisco during CNBC’s weekday morning financial news program Squawk Box.
