A small town bank promoting small business loans is doing it in a small way–through lemonade stands. Umpqua Bank, which operates 144 branches in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, is providing lemonade stands to children in eight bank markets and promoting it with a viral film that focuses on a seven-year-old boy’s quest to start a lemonade stand.
‘Lemonaire’ “is a perfect metaphor for the business that brings the idea to life in a fun way,” said Jim Haven, creative director at advertising agency, Creature/Seattle, which created the film that was produced by Teak Motion Visuals/San Francisco.
The five-and-a-half minute film follows the exploits of the young boy, who comes up with the idea of opening the lemonade stand and visits the bank to get it financed before he starts his business. The film is shot inside and outside the boy’s home and at the bank, where a friendly banker approves the loan.
“It illustrates the idea in a way that can be more emotional,” Haven said. “People think of small business loans as not that exciting to talk about, but the film talks about the business through the metaphor of the lemonade stand. The entertainment pays them back for spending time listening to what you have to say.”
Creature worked with Teak to cast the film, selecting Elliott Carr to play the boy, whom Haven said “was one of the most professional actors I’ve ever worked with.”
The film was shot in the Fabulous Forties neighborhood in Sacramento, a leafy suburb that provided an exceptional locale for the lemonade stand.
Dave Laden, an independent director who works for Teak, said the film was shot with a Panasonic HVX2000 camera and recorded to disc. “There were 100 different set ups for the two-day shoot, lots of moving parts, three locations and lots of characters, so it was fast and furious,” he said.
“We could have shot it on film but we had budget constraints,” he said. The camera he used was ideal for the small screen and gave it a filmic look, he noted.
Greg Martinez, executive producer and owner of Teak, said, “The biggest part was keeping it charming. The director does quirky ads and this was a different project for him. It had to be more charming.”
The film began playing at www.Lemonaire.com on June 14 and it also plays at YouTube. It’s the first time the bank has used a film in its advertising. It runs as part of a campaign that also includes radio, direct mail and point-of-sale.
FCB Stays Atop The One Club’s Year-End Global Creative Rankings
FCB ended the year repeating its top positions in The One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, with FCB New York again crowned Global Agency of the Year and FCB Global finishing as Agency Network of the Year for 2024.
The annual worldwide benchmark report is a comprehensive ranking of agencies, brands, countries, and individuals based on points earned from winning entries in The One Club’s eight global, regional, and local awards shows: The One Show 2024, ADC 103rd Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC70 competition, Art Directors Club of Europe ADCE Awards 2024, ONE Asia Creative Awards 2024, and The One Club Denver, San Diego, and Miami chapter 2024 awards programs.
“The Global Creative Rankings is the industry’s most comprehensive and transparent ranking,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “There are no secret weightings in calculating the rankings, and unlike others, it’s not hidden behind a paywall. As the industry’s foremost nonprofit organization for the global creative community, The One Club is in a unique position to provide this free, definitive measure for global creative excellence to everyone in the industry.”
Highlights of the Global Creative Rankings 2024 are below.
Global Agency Rankings
FCB New York
Rethink Toronto
McCann New York
TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
FCB Chicago
Marcel Paris
VML New York
Ogilvy PR New York, Publicis Conseil Paris (tie)
Independent Agency Rankings
Rethink Toronto
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Wieden+Kennedy Portland
Brand-Side Agency... Read More