ASB farewells the ‘Ghost of San Francisco’ in newly launched campaign via WiTH Collective NZ
ASB has released a campaign via WiTH Collective NZ, featuring ‘The Ghost of San Francisco’ as part of its America’s Cup sponsorship.
The bank, which has a long-term relationship with Emirates Team New Zealand, dating back to 2000, says the campaign is a tribute to a historic victory and a remarkable comeback in Bermuda this year.
ASB general manager marketing Shane Evans said Team New Zealand’s win in Bermuda is perhaps one of the greatest sporting examples of Kiwi ingenuity and spirit.
Says Evans: “We all felt the pain four years ago. But in a very real way, it’s that loss that makes the story of this team and their triumph all the more remarkable.
“This was no ordinary win. This campaign is not only celebrating the victory, but also a country that wasn’t afraid to get back behind their team, and cheer as they raced the giants of sailing again. It’s a story of innovation and bravery that goes right to the heart of the Kiwi character.”
The campaign is led by a TV ad where a ghostly character, dressed in sailing cap and blazer, reflects on the job he’s done for the last four years.
The ghost said: “I mean, how often do you get the chance to haunt an entire nation.”
Yet, as he packs up his things and prepares to leave, the ghost reveals he’s happy the team won, saying he’s “celebrating the prospect of a new job and looking forward to fewer late nights.”
Evans said it seemed appropriate to celebrate Team New Zealand’s win with a smile.
Says Evans: “The campaign also speaks to the innovation behind the win – it took guts to put bikes on a boat. Innovation is something we celebrate at ASB, and we wanted to celebrate it here, in this campaign, too.”
The Ghost of San Francisco is the first campaign from ASB produced by WiTH Collective, who worked with The Downlow Concept to realise the idea.
WiTH Collective chief creative officer Steve Coll said the phrase ‘The Ghost of San Francisco’ popped up repeatedly during the America’s Cup racing.
“Even the crew referred to it. ASB kept pushing us to get to the heart of what the race meant to Kiwis. And it seemed the ghost was a key part of it.
“The victory came from fearless innovation, thinking differently, taking risks and putting it all on the line. It is one of history’s great sporting comebacks and something that absolutely anyone can appreciate – even the bloke who’s been haunting Kiwis for the last four years.”
Coll said ASB was instrumental in helping WiTH move at pace to complete this job, and was enormously supportive throughout.
Says Coll: “I’d particularly like to thank our production team and the team at Downlow. This was lightning fast from start to finish, and Iain, Jarrod, Nigel and Camilo have worked incredibly hard and performed minor miracles.”
Downlow founders, Nigel McCullough and Jarrod Holt said creating the campaign was almost as intense as watching the races: “But we thought the concept was spot on. It’s been a really great collaboration with Nic and Si from WiTH Collective, and we’re very pleased with the result.”
ASB
Roger Beaumont – Executive General Manager Marketing and Communications
Shane Evans – General Manager Marketing
Mark Graham – Head of Community, Sponsorship and Events
Bianca Osborne – Brand Manager
Emma-Rose Forrester – Assistant Brand Manager
Sharon Moffatt – Head of Marketing Services
Michael Wood – Production Manager
Jasmine Taggart – Social Media Specialist
Simone McCallum, Head of Corporate Content & Social Media
WiTH Collective
Steve Coll, CCO
Justin Hind, CEO
Nicole Hetherington, Creative Director
Simon Fowler, Creative Director
Pat Anderson and Will Winter-Irving, Creative Team
Iain Todd, Head of Production and Content
Elle Horton, Senior Account Manager
The Downlow Concept
Jarrod Holt, Director
Nigel McCullough, Director
Camilo Spath, Producer
Paddy Compter, Producer
Edit: Philippe Lods
Online & Grade: Creature
Sound: Liquid Studios
Media: Carat New Zealand
12 Comments
Guess what’s coming to haunt you soon?
Great, bringing a bit of fun back into advertising.
Good to see something a bit different around the America’s Cup from ASB. Would have been easy to do something quite bland.
I like that it’s unexpected. There’s been way too many cheesy spots around America’s Cup this year (AKA Toyota).
Well done.
The internet is wonderful. It never forgets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siIOJ8V_kD8&feature=youtu.be
Verdict: The client is calling. Better have that excuse ready.
(Hat tip to the person on another site who found this.)
@The Judge? Are you the worst commenter on Campaign Brief? With your last two comments you’ve completely missed the mark.
Tedium. and no innovation connection to client.
I think this one’s more similar. And better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mTLO2F_ERY
Fairly traditional idea and execution for the new customer experience direction that was talked of… an ad really
It’s a ripoff. I’m disappointed, wtf can’t they do something original?
Different does not equal good…
If the people leaving positive comments on here could make it a little less obvious they worked on the piece that would be fab.
But seriously there is an idea there but the piece just feels a bit empty in a few places.