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Halifax brings back Top Cat in new blockbuster campaign from adam&eveDDB

Halifax has been regaling us for years with not-so-heavenly choirs hymning the praises of its various offers. It was probably quite hard to change the theme to something more adventurous as the bank (now owned by Lloyds) recovered from the brink of extinction in the banking crisis.

But adam&eveDDB has clearly been putting its thinking cap on and delved into TV history to exhume Top Cat, a wonderful Hanna-Barbera cartoon from the Sixties. This ran on the BBC and you can imagine the shock among the nation’s children when some pussies at the BBC panicked when they noticed there was a cat food brand called Top Cat and decided to rename it, in the credits, Boss Cat. Courage has never been a constant at the Beeb.

TC, who finds himself homeless and in need of help from the Halifax in this, is a now a Warner Consumer Products property.


Halifax, clearly expecting a lot of bang for its bucks, has also commissioned Global Street Art to create a Top Cat mural on a wall in Old Street, Clerkenwell, London. Artists will begin on the evening of Monday April 25 over three days and the mural will be on display until May 8.

Halifax MD Russell Galley says: “At Halifax we pride ourselves on doing things a little differently and giving extra to our customers. The idea is very simple – at Halifax, no matter who you are, we’re here to help. We’re very proud that our colleagues give a friendly, down to earth and enthusiastic welcome to everyone.” Even cats, it seems.

A&E MD Matt Goff says: “We were delighted to be given the opportunity to take Halifax back to their roots: to create genuinely entertaining advertising and to really bring to life the populist spirit of the bank and its colleagues. We needed to find a fresh way to portray the down to earth, friendly nature of Halifax…and the way they give extra to every customer no matter who they are. And what a joy to be able to bring back Top Cat to our screens. Who knows who’ll walk through the doors next time.”

Ahah, there’ll be more cartoon heroes – from the Warner stable presumably. Daffy Duck anyone?

This is a big campaign – there’ll be lots of other media – and Halifax is backing it with heavyweight promotional offers including up to £2000 cashbacks.

It’s very adam&eve too, putting a big advertising idea at the heart of a big company’s commercial efforts. Just like john Lewis.

I read the other day that Carat UK CEO Tracy De Groose reckons big advertising ideas have had their day. Now it’s all about lots of little executions (or some such). No they haven’t. You just need the courage and ability – and ability to persuade the client – to produce them.

MAA creative scale: 9.

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