Product: Hang Seng Bank.
Title: OTO version/Mr Yip.
Ad agency: Leo Burnett.
First impression: very sober. The use of a sepia-like filter gives the clip a look as monotonous as the narration.
Storyboard: an almost one-minute long testimonial from a real Hang Seng Bank customer. It charts the ups and downs of a small business over the past three decades. Charlie Yip, the owner of a local health-appliance brand, recalls when he started out as a door-to-door salesman: 'I was once chased by dogs when knocking on people's doors.' He moved on to selling portable electric arm massagers, which 'people thought were (stun) guns'. Still, he did well.
In 1997, he opened his first electric-appliance shop but soon faced the Asian financial crisis, during which he sold most of his assets. Then, there was Sars. However, the epidemic also brought opportunities. The businessman received financial support from Hang Seng and was able to sell digital thermometers at half price so 'everyone benefited'. The tagline is: 'Managing wealth for you, with you.'
