A Pet Piggybank Really Hams It Up in Santander Bank's Adorable New Ad

Touting Santander Bank's commitment to customer care, Arnold Worldwide spins a twisty, tender tale about a little girl’s lost pet pig. Or is it a piggybank? Hey, it's both! (But mostly, it's a brand metaphor.) The peppy porker hams it up in the minute-long ad below, deftly dodging downtown traffic before falling into the hands of some curious kids and breaking apart on the sidewalk in a geyser of small change. Luckily, there's a Santander banker nearby, who takes the unfortunate oinker home for some much-needed kindness and repairs. [kickout id="1"] In the most unexpected surprise ending of all time, ol' soft-hearted banksy ultimately deposits his porcine pal back with its rightful owners. "At Santander Bank, we want you to prosper," a voiceover says. "That's why we treat you and your money just like you would—with respect. And respect adds up." The dual nature of the pig as bank and pet could have been confusing, but Rattling Stick director Daniel Kleinman really brings home the bacon. He stays on-message through shrewd storytelling and lets viewers draw whatever conclusions they like. Besides, leaving things a bit ambiguous gives the story an extra fantastical kick. "We wanted it to be unique and peculiar," says James Bray, executive creative director at Arnold, which developed the ad with VFX company Framestore. "If it read piggybank too soon, the story wouldn't work. So, we tried hard to blend a bit of puppy, with pig, with piggybank. The puppy because they're a more relatable pet. You can see this in the long ears. This also helps make the pig, which isn't usually the cutest of animals, appear more floppy, soft and adorable. The piggybank features, like the slot in its back, the short disproportionate legs and snout help the viewer wonder what the heck this little animal was." He adds, "Once we settled on the character's shape and size, we created a model of it. This model was simply an undetailed stand-in. It was often pulled on filament through the frame in order to map out the speed and timings of its movement. The characters in the scenes used it as an interaction reference point as well as an object to hold." In a secondary flight of ads with similar brand themes, Arnold and Hungry Man director Hank Perlman pig out on broad visual puns to explain that the Santander doesn't "shaft," "fleece" or "hose" its customers. As for competing banks, well, they might just give you Jack Squat (in a lavender muscle-shirt and headband, doing squats in your driveway). [kickout id="2"] [kickout id="3"] [kickout id="4"] [kickout id="5"] "We didn't want to come off as holier than thou," says Bray. "Using these simple word plays helped us keep the tone light and likable. By firmly and obviously planting our tongue in our cheek, we don't come off too seriously. So, when a character gets hosed, or fleeced, or the shaft, literally—as ridiculous as that is—it gives us a fun way to pivot back to our more respectful products and services." CREDITS PIGGY Agency: Arnold Worldwide Executive Creative Director: James Bray Creative Director, Art: Sam Mullins Creative Director, Copy: Justin Galvin Copywriter: James Bray Producers: Spring Clinton, Emily LaPierre Planner: Ed Castillo Marketing: Angela Herbst, Erika Gammon, Stephanie Barnes Project Management: Tina Meade, Priscilla Patterson Business Affairs: Jamie-Lyn Gaudet VFX: Framestore Executive Producer, Head of Advertising: Helen Hughes Senior VFX Producer: Josh King Line Producer: Lara Marshall On Set Supervisor (LA): Alex Thomas Visual Effects Supervisor, CG Lead: Tim Jenkinson Visual Effects Supervisor, Compositing Lead: Chris Redding Animation Supervisor: Osman Gani Head of CG: Grant Walker Concept Artists: Nikola Yordanov, David Lockhead Lead Modeller: Paola Santoro Modelling: Joel Best, Omar Jason Texturing: Judit Somogyvari Rigging: Andy Butler Colorist: Steffan Perry Creative Director, Animation: Ross Burgess Animators: James Bown, Felice Minieri Groom: Gabriela Ruch Salmeron FX, Lighting: Rafael Rey Camacho Lighting: Mathias Cadyck, Sebastian Mayer Compositors: Sam Meisels, Mike Simons, Kane Herd, Pawasut Chatmaleerat Paint & Roto: Hasan Khan, Jonathan Williams Production Company: Rattling Stick Executive Producers: Joe Biggins, Jeff Shupe Producer: Johnnie Frankel Director: Daniel Kleinman First Assistant Director: Jack Fitch Director of Photography: Toby Irwin Editorial Company: Whitehouse Post Producer: Jennifer Mersis Editor: Rick Lawley Sound Design: 740 Lead Sound Designer: Chris Pinkston Sound Designer: Josh Reinhardt Executive Producer: Scott Ganary Music: "Home" written by Simon Steadman and Charlton Pettus Vocal arrangement: Future Perfect DON'T GET SURPRISED (Pole, Fleece, Hose, Jack) Agency: Arnold Worldwide Executive Creative Director: James Bray Creative Director, Art: Sam Mullins Creative Director, Copy: Justin Galvin Copywriter: James Bray Producers: Spring Clinton, Emily LaPierre Planner: Ed Castillo Marketing: Angela Herbst, Erika Gammon, Shaye Ellis Project Management: Tina Meade, Priscilla Patterson Business Affairs: Jamie-Lyn Gaudet Production Company: Hungry Man Executive Producers: Kevin Byrne, Mino Jarjoura, Dan Duffy, Jacki Sextro, Caleb Dewart, Line Producer: Caleb Dewart First Assistant Director: Mike Curtis Director of Photography: John Lindley Editorial Company: Hutch Co. Executive Producer: Jane Hutchins Editor: Jim Hutchins VFX: Brickyard Executive Producer: Amy Appleton Flame Artist: Dave Waller Color Company: CO3 Colorist: Tim Massig Music: Beacon Street Studios Mix and Sound Design: Mike Secher, Soundtrack Jorge Rodriguez Agency Marketing Manager

AdFreak

A Pet Piggybank Really Hams It Up in Santander Bank's Adorable New Ad

Arnold preaches customer service

David Gianatasio

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

David Gianatasio