Amid a challenging inflationary environment, “You’re richer than you think” could fall on deaf ears.

Scotiabank is conceding as much in its latest 360 masterbrand work, admitting that “no matter how much you’ve got, someone’s got more.” The idea is conveyed by people gazing longingly at increasingly fancy dinners, homes, fancy roadsters and jet-setting, before coming full circle to a more casual bar and camaraderie. It then reminds its constituency that “there’s more to life than more,” ending with the well-known tag, “You’re richer than you think.”

Canadians are spending alarming amounts of time worrying about their finances, says Scotiabank director of global brand management Katie O’Donovan. Therefore, the bank’s latest campaign work was important to give the perspective that being rich is not just about what’s in your wallet. The notion of there being more to life than acquiring more, O’Donovan says, sets up a platform idea that the bank can iterate on across different products and services.

The campaign is “sprawling,” O’Donovan notes, and it will work in tandem with other campaigns and run until the end of the year.

The new year provided a great opportunity for this brand effort to come to life, O’Donovan says, as people often put pressure on themselves at this time of year, which the campaign hopes to allay. Scotiabank, she says, is honing in on those looking for advice to maintain their investments, save for retirement or maintain emergency funds should volatility continue, and people for whom every day is a struggle, and who cannot think about the future beyond the here and now.

“It was really important to find meaning in the present,” says Crystal Sales, group strategy director at Scotiabank’s AOR, Rethink, who says the spot sets out to empathetically reflect the realities people face while showing how Scotiabank can help them make the most of their financial potential, even in today’s challenging economy.

“We kept coming back to ‘You’re richer than you think’ as being such a strong and iconic and distinctive asset for Scotiabank,” Sales says, telling strategy the message needed to evolve as it means something different now than it did in the past.

According to Sales, for a period of time, banking advertising was cookie cutter, with an advisor telling you everything you need and with a happy ending, which is not the reality many are facing, especially now.

The spot is airing in commercials in cinemas across the country, given that the spot is cinematic in its feel and has a captive audience, O’Donovan says. It’s also airing on YouTube, and is anchored by the hero 60-second film spot, and supported by a 30-second spot and a series of 15-second spots across traditional television, OLV and connected TV throughout 2024.

PHD handled the media buy.