Two new star colleagues from the Halifax & Bank of Scotland hit TV screens in the bank's latest ad, which premieres during the break of Northern Lights at 9.30 pm on 6th February.
The latest "staff as stars" ad features new faces, Laura Adams from Glasgow and Ian O'Rourke from London. The ad sees the pair bring us their version of the Cab Calloway classic, "Minnie the Moocher". Cast amongst hep cats and zoot suits of a 1930's swing bar the scene is not dissimilar to the Cotton Club in Harlem that made Calloway a star.
The ad will promote mortgages, underlining the saving homeowners can make each month by switching their mortgage to Halifax. This is the second "staff as stars " ad to promote mortgages, the first featuring the Baha Men's "Who let the dogs out?"
Following the Halifax's fifth "Search for a Star" campaign, auditions were held at venues around the UK for the 1600 HBOS colleagues who applied. Laura and Ian were chosen after being invited to second auditions in London with 20 other colleagues.
Laura and Ian worked with Fame Academy voice coach, David Grant, and recorded the soundtrack for the ad at Angel Studios in London with the team from Jeff Wayne Music. Dawn Shadforth directed the new Mortgage TV ad, Dawn has also worked with Kylie Minogue, Oasis, Jamiroquai, Garbage and Goldfrapp, amongst others.
Laura Adams commented: "Making the TV ad was an amazing experience and a big change from my daily role in the branch in Glasgow, and I got to wear some beautiful costumes!"
Ian O'Rourke added:"The whole experience was fantastic, but for me the highlight was having the opportunity to work with David Grant and record in a professional studio - very different from my normal training job!"
Steve Griffiths, Head of Halifax & Bank of Scotland Marketing said:"This latest advert continues our highly effective staff as stars campaign and introduces two new colleagues. In the ad Laura and Ian demonstrate how they can make customers better off when they switch to a Halifax mortgage."
