by Uche Briggs

 

 

Theme: Let’s Talk, We Understand Your Business

 

Client: Stanbic IBTC

 

Agency: TBWA Concept

 

Copy Writer: Uche Eze

 

Art Director: Solomon Ogunbor

Stanbic IBTC’s advert seems to be targeting business owners with the promise of perfect synergy and the delightful theme of the advert works well. The narrative – with the banker demonstrating a perfect understanding (indispensable for partnership) of a business partner – is really good copywriting.

 

The advert scores highly on simplicity, photography and reliability. Often times in the Nigerian market, art directors are faced with the daunting task of finding a middle ground between communicating as simply as possible to a largely uneducated populace and preserving that creative spark. TBWA Concept achieves this effortlessly. The communication is simple and can be understood by business owners across different demography without compromising Stanbic IBTC’s brand equity (Don’t take my word for it. Conduct an Advert Test).

 

The choice of Tina Mba for the lead couldn’t have been better. Her delivery is without blemish – unencumbered by ghastly theatrics Nigeria actors/actresses are known for. Her chemistry with the banker seemed genuine and that is down to great directing and even better editing. Good stuff.

 

It is also quite evident that the thinking behind the TVC had a clear Out of Home (OOH) execution and by deliberately inserting it in the TVC at the 00:30 second mark, the Art Director deliberately sets the course for the billboard performing its primary function as the ‘reminder medium’.

 

There are a few improvement notes however:

 

Although the voice over is rich, there isn’t a perfect sync with the video.
One is quite unsure of the reason Funman products were so conspicuous in the ad. Is Stanbic IBTC the official bank for Funman fruit juice and as such was this some sort of value added service? How do other juice manufacturers view this? Did Funman legitimise this ad? If there were negative feedback from the ad, would this have been transferred to the Funman brand?
The ‘Banker’ is a good choice, but for a financial service company dealing with businesses, key words are prudence and moderation. I (and this is a personal call) would err on the side of caution and adopt an option that eschews any semblance of ostentation. Hence: Clean Shave – no beards. It is all about perception and this video below from the movie Adjustment Bureau makes this case better.

 

Lastly, little finishing touches like the shot of the Stanbic IBTC branch at the 0:55mark could have been better.
Overall, the team at TBWA has done a remarkable job with this.

 

Visit the TBWA Concept website for more of their works:  http://tbwaconcept.com

 

This TVC is rated 6.5/10.

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Uche Briggs is a brand manager resident in Lagos, Nigeria. His interests are Brands, music, Nigeria and beautiful women. He tweets from @UcheBriggs.