Responses by Joost Berends, creative director/partner, mortierbrigade
Background: With its 45-second spot “The Walk,” ING wanted to promote its free Lion Account, the daily banking account aimed at consumers above eighteen years old. But we had to do it in a different way, to differentiate ING from its competitors, since free accounts are not very unique. We wanted to focus on the experiences linked to the use of the Dutch bank’s product rather than communicate about the product itself.
Reasoning: Today, a lot of stuff is free, so people don’t really care about free things anymore. We wanted to give more added value to the product by associating it with important things in life that are free as well. The ING Lion Account is not just something common; it’s also something really worthy.
Challenges: We wanted to show exceptional things that are free without falling into clichés. The goal was not to show impossible and uncommon things, and we tried to be inspirational and realistic. It’s a journey in the life of normal people, with no spectacular landscapes, jumping whales or dancing unicorns.
Favorite details: The balance between imagery and sound since the role of the music and the interruptions really support our concept. We chose a very powerful musical score, which was constantly interrupted by the actions of our hero.
Visual influences: The Tree of Life was an important reference in our visual universe because that’s the whole point—we have extraordinary things in life that are real and accessible, and you don’t need golden mountains or waterfalls with chocolate milk to be impressed.
Specific demands: How to throw away the bank’s mail without being disrespectful. It was the most important scene in the spot. The way director Kristoffer Borgli brought it to life was perfect, and showed how confident ING is without taking itself too seriously.
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