HSBC has launched a campaign promoting its No Fixed Address service, which offers financial support to people without a fixed address in partnership with housing and homelessness charity Shelter.
Created by Wunderman Thompson, “Vicious circle” follows a homeless person as she is denied the right to access a bank account due to having “no address”.
As a result, she is not able to get a job, which in turn means that she cannot afford a home and thus will not be able to get an address in order to get a bank account.
The cycle repeats, going faster and faster until the work turns to black.
“It’s time to break the vicious cycle,” the ad declares before outlining HSBC’s No Fixed Address service.
The campaign launched on Friday (4 June) during Gogglebox on Channel 4 and will run throughout June alongside digital, outdoor and print activity showing an endless loop of financial exclusion.
It was created by Craig Hunt and James Humphreys, and directed by Siri Bunford through Knucklehead. Media is handled by PHD.
“No one should be in a position where they are unable to open a bank account,” Becky Moffat, chief marketing officer at HSBC UK, said.
“We’re incredibly proud to play our part in helping to break this vicious cycle and support the most vulnerable in society to become financially independent."
Moffat continued: “Through this campaign we hope to raise awareness of our No Fixed Address service so that we can get the right support to those who need it most.”
Last month, Shelter kicked off a campaign revealing the unfiltered truth of Britain’s housing emergency.
Last September, creative agency Pablo said goodbye to its Shoreditch office and donated a large sum of the resulting savings in rent overheads to Shelter.
James Allen, assistant director of marketing and content at Shelter, said: “Home is everything, yet hundreds of thousands of people don’t have one – leaving many to face the horror of homelessness, including sleeping rough.
“On top of the dangers of life on the streets, imagine facing a constant battle to receive wages or access financial support?”
Allen added: “Not having a bank account makes it nearly impossible to escape the cycle of homelessness. So this game-changing service is giving more people who have fallen on hard times a helping hand towards gaining financial independence and rebuilding their lives.”
In October, HSBC enlisted Richard Ayoade (who has been the face of the brand since 2018) for an ad signalling a return to normality during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mike Watson, creative director at Wunderman Thompson, said: “The creative execution conveys the isolation and futility that many feel if they are denied a bank account simply through having no fixed address.
“The stripped-back execution aims to convey, powerfully, the emotions that this situation can bring about.”
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