A Man Is Torn Apart by Piranhas in Uncommon's Latest 'Hell or Habito' Ads

Hot on the trail of Habito’s loud, bold and disruptive ‘Hell or Habito’ campaign which first aired in Autumn last year, come two new 10-second TV executions and OOH aimed at further highlighting the plight of UK mortgage-holders and would-be homeowners.

One animation features a male protagonist who suffers such extreme anxiety and stress that the room fills with his sweat causing him to drown in it, but not before he is attacked by a shoal of rabid piranhas. The other features a female character who, trapped and engulfed by the remortgage paperwork and mounting costs that surround her, succumbs to grotesque tentacles that emerge from the stacks of documents to suffocate and literally squeeze the life out of her.

Both, thankfully, end happily with a timely release from death-by-mortgage delivered by Habito, the fee-free and jargon-free online mortgage broker, heaven-sent to make mortgages easier and better.

The TV spots are accompanied by striking OOH illustrated by Californian artist Jimbo Phillips, with three new executions: ATM, Blimp and Sink Hole. The designs visualise even more surreal and brave graphics from Jimbo with longer copy emphasising the hellish ordeal of finding a mortgage. There will be placements across London Underground, tube card panels and 48 sheet sites. 

Abba Newbery, chief marketing officer at Habito, said: “Our ads are deliberately colourful, playful and irreverent. But while the scenarios are heavily dramatised they reflect an all-too real truth: that people find the process of getting a mortgage utterly hellish. Our insights tell us that two thirds of people suffer from mortgage stress and £15.5 billion is wasted on mortgages every year because homeowners are paying too much interest.”

“Frankly that is unacceptable. For too long the odds have been stacked against customers. Baffling jargon and a lack of transparency when it comes to switching means they are completely disempowered. At Habito we’re turning the mortgage market on its head and putting customers back in the driving seat.” 

As with the previous ‘Hell or Habito’ TV spots, Uncommon worked with Strange Beast on the animations while Dutch band Noisia once again provide the frenetic soundtrack to the mortgage hell depicted.