St.George asks customers to unleash their Little Dragon in latest campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi
St.George Bank is introducing a new character, Little Dragon, as part of its latest ‘Start Something’ campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney.
Following an integrated launch across social, radio, digital and in-branch, a new 60″ Television Commercial (TVC) debuted over the weekend.
Little Dragon has been created to represent the little voice in your head, taking on the role of a life coach and appearing at moments of indecision, to inspire and motivate you. He’s cheeky, courageous and fun – he’s your Little Dragon!
The new TVC features Little Dragon as an animated character. It starts by capturing an everyday moment of a mother, who appears defeated as she turns to face a toy-littered apartment having just put her twin boys to bed. A Little Dragon appears amidst the mess encouraging her to take life by the horns and start looking for a bigger home.
Martine Jager, chief marketing officer, Westpac Group, said Little Dragon builds on the success of St.George’s ‘Start Something’ campaign, which has defined the brand since first launching in 2013.
Says Jager: “The Little Dragon represents the fire in our belly that injects us with a boost of confidence to get out there and start something. Our customers are increasingly feeling that today’s pace of life can hold them back from making life decisions, and so Little Dragon is there to help nudge them forward and start the things they might be putting off.
“Helping our customers start something is what we do each and every day – whether it’s starting renovations, starting a business, starting the next chapter, we’re here to help and St.George is the bank to help you do it.”
Mike Spirkovski, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, said Little Dragon was created from a desire to personalise the brand in a unique way, both visually and tonally as quintessentially St.George.
Says Spirkovski: “Start Something is a great platform to work from, and there’s nothing more St.George than the dragon. So the idea of leveraging such an iconic brand asset and creating a bespoke personalised and inspirational little dragon was a natural creative expression.”
Client: St.George Bank
Creative: Saatchi & Saatchi
Chief Creative Officer: Mike Spirkovski
Associate Creative Director: Dan O’Connell
Associate Creative Director: Sam Chappell
Copywriter: Jack Wall
Art director: Phil Harkness
Chief Strategy Officer: Kate Smither
Senior Strategist: Joseph Smeaton
Managing Partner: Toby Aldred
Senior Business Director: Suzanne Leddin
TV Producer: Esme Fisher
Integrated Producer: Laura Blight
Director: Fiona McGee
Production: Goodoil
Animation: Alt.vfx
PR: Map and Page
36 Comments
Nice one Dan & Sam!
Great little character. Well done.
Cool animation.
Fun
Badly crafted dialogue, clunky CGI and underwhelming idea.
Better than the usual banking shite out there
Dreadful characterisation, hack acting, appallingly shot (looks cheap, like a student film) and the VFX look like they’re from the 90’s.
Probably one of the worst things to come out in a while.
Oh and not funny. A fail all around. I dread to think how much money was wasted on this.
Nicely done, Fee and the gang
Look like ads, sound like ads. Well done on making ads.
Yeah, good stuff. But listen guys, I’m going to need the dragon back. I’ve got an army of the undead to vanquish, and this little fella is supposed to be the ring bearer at me and my Snow-bro’s wedding.
Not S&S fault that the St George product is crap.
But unfortunately the product and experience is appalling.
So many supposed challenger brands that are owned by the 4 aren’t challengers in product, experience or brand.
These are ads, average ads, keeps the wheels turning and stops the marketing team or agency getting fired. Standard.
Well done, gents. Neat campaign
Having worked on this brand in a previous life, I know how hard it is to get anything decent through – so well done S&S.
Nice to see something funny from a bank
Coffee gag is pretty ballsy
I love an agapantha on a pink pantha first thing in the morning
Seems fresh. Would be cool if other brands took a leap like this. Imagine if they bought the paddle pop lion to life and made him animated in the real world. Or they could take the birds from the Birdseye logo and make them fly around the kitchen making jokes about fish fingers. Or Tooheys brought their stag to life?
the only redeemable feature is the use of ‘funky cole medina’ at the end.
I look forward to the next series in the campaign where the cute little dragon demonstrates his fire-breathing powers to devastating effect…
WTF? Did the client do drugs to sign that off?
Awful but at least it’s an honest reflection of what’s going on.
Families live in flats because older people refuse to move out of their houses into something smaller. Prices go up. The end.
They’re just ads… and they’re good.
Its not awful. It just makes you cringe.
Talons up!
Well I for one think these are pretty good. Saw one last night and my house mates all laughed. That’s what it’s all about, surely?
@ Youneek
BMF brought the stag to life in this classic spot https://vimeo.com/30835708
Love the way the dragon snorts a massive line in the family spot before he begins. Proper class that is!
Truly terrible.
But still better than the Stoner Sloth.
Banking’s hard, and this is a particularly hard client, so full respect Saatchi for getting something actually quite decent through. Ignore the axe grinders!
Funny and money is a hard combo to nail, and I reckon these have managed it. Just.
Not a comment on the creative, as I’m sure St George are a difficult client to get creative work through.
But that CGI dragon?
I see much better animation on CBeebies.
Really shoddy work.
Love the old mum!
The worst thing about these is the decision to PR them. Surely they should be swept under the rug.
The mind boggles.
Does somebody need a hug?
Nope. I need a lobotomy after watching that.
Why the gorgeous actress name is not mentioned in the list of people associated with this ad?