Bank of Montreal launched phase two of its ‘It Is Possible’ campaign last week.

The second installment is a series of four 30-second tv spots that, while projecting a different look from the campaign’s first wave of creative, continue telling the same story.

Vickers & Benson Advertising of Toronto has replaced the monotone look and black humor of the work unveiled in May with a message of hope, filmed in full color.

Kathie Macmillan, vice-president, corporate marketing for the Bank of Montreal, says:

‘Strategically, phase one and phase two are cut from the same cloth, although there are clearly executional differences.

‘The first phase was designed to break through when cynicism and peoples’ attitudes were pretty black,’ Macmillan says.

‘We found, strategically, the direction was bang-on,’ she says.

‘We also realized there were a lot of people who saw the first round of commercials that really didn’t understand where it was going and wanted a more linear explanation, but still in an entertaining and breakthrough manner.’

The new ads include shots of an eagle soaring overhead while a man walks along a wooden path laid out in a desert.

The man reaches a wall, builds a ladder, and climbs over the wall.

Interspersed throughout are shots of ‘The book of possibilities’ set against a blue sky.

The voiceover begins with, ‘You have high hopes for your future, but you have obstacles to overcome.’

Bruce Philp, v&b executive creative director, says a powerful influence on the second round of creative was feedback from some of the 75,000 consumers who had ordered ‘Your Book of Possibilities,’ worksheets and financial planning information tailored individually, in the launch phase. PS