Commonwealth Bank set to launch ‘One Hundred Years Together’ campaign via Goodby Silverstein

Commonwealth Bank in Australia has announced details of its campaign to celebrate its Centenary year and highlight its integral role in the history and progress of Australia over the last century.

The extensive integrated campaign, entitled ‘One Hundred Years Together’, created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco, will highlight what Commonwealth Bank, together with the people of Australia, have achieved in the past 100 years. Combining television, print and socialmedia, the campaign will look to engage existing and prospective Commonwealth Bank customers in a conversation about the future of banking over the next 100 years.

The creative will run across print, television and digital media starting on October 2. The television ads will air in 60 and 45 second slots from this date. Social channels will also complement the traditional media with a Facebook tab and Twitter launching soon after.

The dedicated Centenary website, developed by The White Agency, will also launch on October 2. Dedicated to the people, places and events that have formed the last one hundred years of Commonwealth Bank, the site will incorporate a combination of newly filmed content mixed with never before seen footage and stills from the extensive Bank archives.

Print ads supporting the TV campaign will launch across a range of titles nationally on October 23.

The TVC, which will be available on Commonwealth Bank You Tube channel at 10:00am Friday 30 September, follows the journey of a young woman (representing the Bank), played by Australian actress Clare Van der Boom, as she makes her way through various eras of the last century, pausing on significant moments in Australia’s history. Scenes depict the might of the Commonwealth Shipping Line, the harsh conditions of the Broken Hill mines, the scars left by the 1939 Victorian Bushfires, the tragedy of fallen Anzac troops on the battlefields of Gallipoli, and the national triumphs of sporting icons, Donald Bradman, the Australian team at America’s Cup and Cathy Freeman.

These grand and incredibly stirring scenes are interspersed with highlights of what the Bank has directly contributed in the past century. We see the women move into the classroom, where she teaches students in the 1950’s about the importance of saving, she drives through the quiet streets of the 1970’s waving at families in their newly settled homes, she watches a child swing from a Hills Hoist, she retrieves a ball during a backyard cricket game. The fluid style and clevernarrative allows the woman to swiftly and believably move through the chronicles of Australia’s past in a remarkable feat of advertising filmmaking.

Says Commonwealth Bank Chief Marketing & Online Officer, Andy Lark: “As Australia’s favourite bank we’ve played an integral role in the evolution of commerce and communities. Today we are celebrating thatcontribution and saying thanks to the millions of customers and thousands of employees – past and present – that have made this possible. What you see today is the huge sense of pride we have in being invited into our customers’ lives and in making a difference in their communities. And we are inviting them to join us on Facebook, Twitter and at www.100yearstogether.com.au to share their experiences and aspirations for the next 100 years.”

Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Media: Ikon