Lincoln Financial Group has launched “The (Un)Spoken Plan” campaign featuring a social experiment called “Restaurant Talks” from FCB New York. A restaurant is taken over, outfitted with hidden cameras and the menu changed to get real, unsuspecting families to talk about finances.

This campaign film, which was directed by Washington Square Films director and hidden camera expert Andrew Lane, featured various families arriving at a restaurant for dinner. The families were handed a unique menu made up of surprising data points (the appetizers) and tough financial questions (the main courses) covering a range of savings, protection, retirement and financial planning topics. Diners were then informed by their waiter that they could pay for their meal only by having a meaningful financial conversation with their loved ones – right then and there. Hidden cameras captured the real reactions and enlightening discussions that followed.

“Restaurant Talks” was created in response to a new proprietary survey, entitled the 2019 Lincoln Financial Conversation Survey, that revealed, among other startling statistics, that 47% of Americans struggle to have conversations with loved ones about long-term financial planning. The campaign’s goal is to lower this unsettling number by encouraging people to talk to their loved ones about finances with the help of Lincoln Financial tools and resources. The initiative sets out to inspire Americans as they gather around the dinner table this holiday season.

“The survey was a real wake-up call for us. You think about all the things you talk about with your family, but for nearly half the country, finances aren’t one of them. We wanted to find a provocative way to break this taboo and get people talking,” said Stu Mair, FCB New York EVP, executive creative director. “It was amazing to watch each family take on these tough questions – some for the first time – and how much they learned in just one, rather bizarre, meal. Hopefully, one conversation sparks another.”

Credits

Client Lincoln Financial Group Agency FCB New York Ari Halper, chief creative officer; Stu Mair, EVP, executive creative director; Tara Dobson, associate creative director, copy; Thomas Mori, associate creative director, content creator; Jack McCormick, copywriter, content creator; Andrew Mikhael, art director, content creator; Jon Gruber, copywriter; Todd Sussman, chief strategy officer; Ben Grossman, SVP, group strategy director; Hanna Park, strategy director; Greg Hines, sr. social strategist; Adam Isidore, director of integrated production; Leanne Diamond, executive broadcast producer. Production Andrew Lane, director (represented by Washington Square Films). Editorial Nomad Editing Company Adam Schwartz, editor; Stephen Picano, colorist; Alexander Chizhov, Flame; Valerie McAndrews, producer; Jennifer Lederman, exec producer. Audio Post Heard City Eric Rado, Jody Loeb, mixers. Music Asche & Spencer

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