Creative Classic: HSBC charts a small business’ evolution through its elevator
Rather than following a company around the world, HSBC’s 2015 campaign with Grey confined the action to a single elevator.
The humble lift has been elevated in popular culture of late, playing a starring role in Apple TV’s ‘Severance’ and getting a futuristic makeover in the movie ‘Mickey 17’.
Sometimes the biggest stories are best told in the smallest space, and for HSBC, back in 2015, the lift was a mainstay at the businesses it supported through years of growth and change.
The lift acts as the gateway to a business, spanning a 40-year journey (from 1974), tracking the growth of a fictional enterprise called Cadours Industries. It stars actor Stephane Coulon, whose character evolves from a lone, ambitious start-up founder into the head of a large multinational corporation.
The ad tracks the various employees arriving in it over the years, as well as the promotions, setbacks, celebrations and changing fortunes that make for a life in business. Different periods of the business's life and time unfold within the same few square metres, using restriction as a creative restraint.
Lifting HSBC
‘Lift’ feels more cinematic than a conventional corporate film, in much the same way ‘Locke’ and ‘Phone Booth’ demonstrated how creative limitations can heighten engagement.
The dialogue-free film (a popular choice of late) extended into a full content marketing ecosystem, including the "Elevator Pitch" competition, which offered small business finalists a chance to win £150,000 in funding alongside expert mentoring.
The strategy successfully achieved over 150,000 views for its digital business talks, boosted click-through rates by 36%, and generated an estimated £9m profit increase from incoming small-and-medium enterprise (SME) leads.
Credits
Creative agency: Grey London
Creative director: Nick Rowland
Copywriters: Jamie Starbuck & Theo Bayani
Art director: Miguel Gonzalez
Production company: Independent Films
Director: Gary Freedman
Director of photography (DOP): Stéphane Fontaine
Editor: Adam Spivey
Post-production: Tom Johnson
Audio post-production: Sam Robson
Soundtrack composer: Yann Tiersen
Industry Accolades: The commercial won a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, a Gold Eurobest award for Film Craft, and multiple Silver and Bronze honours at the British Arrows Awards.
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