A Forgotten Red Suitcase Realises Its Dreams in Endearing AIB Loans TVC

ROTHCO, part of Accenture Interactive, has created a new commercial ‘The Power of Doing’ for Allied Irish Banks (AIB) which marks the next chapter in the brand’s ‘backing doing’ platform.

Directed by multi-award-winning Irish director and animator Johnny Kelly, of Antidote, the ad follows the story of Casey, a ruby red suitcase who has spent her life unused at the back of a wardrobe. Realising that life’s precious moments aren’t to be wasted, she bursts free of her plastic wrapping and rolls off into the sunset to seek her destiny - travelling the world.

Stephen Rogers, creative director at ROTHCO comments: “Whether it’s in the back of your wardrobe or the back of your mind, we all have that one thing we really want to do but never manage to get done. Life, unfortunately, just gets in the way. For us, we wanted to find a way of highlighting this truth that didn’t feel overly literal, cliched or preachy. So, using a travel suitcase that was bought with the best intentions, but never made it out of its plastic wrapping, felt like the perfect metaphor for dreams going unfulfilled until you do something about them. And when we decided that we needed to bring emotion, character and empathy to an inanimate object, we immediately knew Johnny Kelly was the man we wanted on board to direct.”

Leveraging AIB’s position as market leaders in providing efficient loan application and approval processes, the new spot looks to subvert the usual advertising tropes and provide something unexpected. Rather than focusing on the product, Casey’s journey elevates the act of ‘doing’ by using an object every viewer could identify with as a metaphor to represent the excitement of fulfilling your dreams.

Mark Doyle, chief marketing officer at AIB says: “With our new Personal Credit campaign we set out to celebrate the power of doing. It’s so easy to get caught up in our busy lives. Sometimes, our dreams and ambitions get shifted aside and can become our biggest regrets in life.  Through our new campaign we show that once you are inspired to start doing, there’s no stopping you.”

The ad was shot entirely in camera, with puppeteering and practical effects used to elicit a real sense of empathy for the little suitcase that finally achieved what she was made for.

Casey’s journey will run as 40-second and 20-second ads on TV, with a 60-second edit appearing in cinema and on social media. The film will be supported by OOH, with bespoke illustrations created by illustrator and designer Tobias Hall.