Fortis launches first global ad campaign

Fortis is pledging to drop the “empty promises” associated with financial services companies in its first global advertising campaign. The “Life is a curve” ad marks the first work created by Grey Worldwide since winning the £100m account in November last year.

The campaign, which breaks this week, will focus on establishing a global identity for the Benelux-based company, which has grown quickly through acquisition. Adrian Martorana, general manager of global branding and communication, says it aims to establish Fortis’s core belief that change is both a challenge and an opportunity.

It will roll out in Europe across television, digital, print, in-branch, cinema, radio and outdoor, with Asia and America following in autumn. Media planning and buying is through Mediaedge:cia.

In the UK, the activity will focused on the bigger business-to-business player because it does not have retail presence. It will concentrate on outdoor sites, such as at Heathrow airport, as well as digital and targeted press.

The posters will support the campaign’s strapline “Here today. Where tomorrow?” by using a secondary line “Getting you there”.

The work uses a red line on white background to show how people’s fortunes as a series of ups and downs. The campaign will be followed by product-focused advertising during the summer.

Martorana says it was important for the bank to continue advertising through the credit crunch, as consumers need more reassurance rather than “a vacuum of communication” at such times. He says: “We see ourselves as partners, helping customers achieve their own financial goals – ultimately ‘getting them there’.”