Move over, Disney — Experian is introducing a new “BFG” better-suited for today’s audiences.
Sam Richardson, who starred in the HBO comedy Veep, is the title character in the credit reporting company Experian’s new marketing campaign, Big Financial Friend.
The company aims to promote that it offers more than just credit reports. Experian has started to provide checking accounts and debit cards, among other tools.
“We needed something that would represent all of the things that we do,” said Todd Miller, chief creative officer of The Cooler, the company’s in-house agency. “Although the idea of the Big Financial Friend came out of a confluence of these ideas, it is representative of all of the many things that Experian can do.”
The company’s effort to diversify comes as federal lawmakers and regulators have scrutinized its practices in recent years.
In January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Experian for allegedly failing to properly investigate consumer disputes and, last year, Senate Democrats opened an investigation into Experian and other credit reporting agencies over a glitch that caused loan balances to appear twice on credit reports, “an error that can make it difficult for some borrowers to get credit or loans such as mortgages,” the Washington Post reported.
In a new 30-second spot, a woman whose car has broken down encounters Richardson, a giant who turns a park bench into a seesaw.
“When you need a lift, you could use a Big Financial Friend — your BFF, Experian,” the narrator says.
Miller said they hired Richardson because of “his ability to deliver with his expressions and sometimes three or four syllables — as he does in Veep — so much feeling, so much emotion.”
Tarsem Singh, who directed films such as The Fall and commercials for Nike and Coca-Cola, directed the Experian advertisement.
The brand plans to release two additional 30-second spots in the coming months showing the protagonist becoming increasingly comfortable with her finances, Miller said. On June 8, which has been designated National Best Friends Day, the brand will partner on content with sibling influencers, including the Montoya Twinz and the Pitman Sisters.
“We’re still tying it to the Big Financial Friend,” Miller said.
The marketing is focused on people aged 18 to 35, according to the team, and will be distributed across television, digital and streaming, including during the NBA playoffs and on Netflix and Roku.
The outside agencies that worked on the campaign were: MikeTeeVee (production); Uppercut (editorial); UPP/Prague (visual effects and color); Shindig (music); and Eleven (mix).
