CommBank extends Can brand positioning with launch of ‘Three Little Letters’ campaign with musician Steve Clisby via M&C Saatchi, Sydney

Commonwealth Bank has launched the latest iteration of its inspirational Can brand positioning, through a new advertising, PR and social media campaign, with musician Steve Clisby and agency M&C Saatchi.

At the core of the campaign is ‘Three Little Letters’ – a song especially written for the campaign, reinforcing the Can philosophy and reflecting the story of Clisby’s life-long love of music and his perseverance to achieve his goals.

VIEW THE SPOT

Commonwealth Bank’s Can positioning was launched in May 2012 with an award-winning campaign, featuring the poem ‘Ode to Can’, read by Toni Collette. The campaign was aimed at empowering and inspiring customers – both individuals and businesses – to move forward in their financial lives. The latest chapter of this campaign continues the momentum with the lead campaign thought: ‘When you believe you Can, you Can’.

‘Three Little Letters’ is a testament to Clisby’s personal story – from being a six year old who, inspired by his mother’s record collection, taught himself to play the piano and saxophone; to performing on the world stage and playing alongside Tina Turner and Jimi Hendrix.

Demonstrating his perseverance to achieve his goals, 67 year old Clisby went on to become a finalist in the 2013 series of The Voice, where his story was embraced and he now continues to perform as a successful live artist across the country. 

‘Three Little Letters’, which encourages Australians to pursue their goals, will be supported by a 60sec and 30sec TVC, outdoor media, digital video, cinema advertising and social media campaign.

A three-minute video, showing Clisby performing the song, can be watched and downloaded for free from can.com.au, or downloaded from iTunes and the Google Play Store, with net proceeds donated to the Breast Cancer Institute of Australia.

Commonwealth Bank chief marketing officer, Vittoria Shortt, believes the latest campaign demonstrates Commonwealth Bank’s ongoing commitment to the Can attitude.

Says Shortt: “From being greeted by our concierge in-branch, conversations with our dedicated employees over the phone, to the new technologies on offer, which make everyday banking simpler for customers – the sentiment of Can underpins every interaction we have with our customers. Steve’s story of perseverance and consistently striving towards his goals personifies the Can philosophy. Over the years he repeatedly told himself ‘I can achieve my dream’, and that’s what he continues to do. We hope Steve’s story and our latest campaign encourages our customers to pursue their goals, and work towards their financial and personal aspirations.”

According to Clisby, the sentiment of the Can campaign is something he has related to throughout his career.

Says Clisby: “The Can philosophy is a commitment to continually working towards your goals. Throughout my career there have been times when I considered giving up, but with positivity and hard work I managed to persevere through the tough times and achieve things I never would have thought possible. I’m proud to be working with CommBank on the Can concept which so closely mirrors my own life story,” said Mr Clisby.

The campaign launched on Sunday, 13 October with a 60sec and 30sec TVC that will air across all FTA and paid networks. It will also be supported by OOH, digital video and cinema advertising.

Client: Commonwealth Bank

Head of Television & Content: Rod James

Media: Ikon