Bank of Antandec Tackles Copyright Infringements in New Santander Spot

This weekend marks the launch of Santander’s latest instalment in its Bank of Antandec series. Created by ENGINE and launched in June 2019, the Bank of Antandec platform delivered record breaking branding scores for Santander last summer, including the highest uplift in ad awareness of any brand in the UK.

The latest campaign in the multi-year partnership with Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly gives an entertaining insight into the latest happenings at ‘the bank’, while simultaneously driving awareness of Santander’s mortgage products.

Since launching, Britain’s newest banking enthusiasts, Ant and Dec, have shown the nation countless radical ideas they’ve had for the Bank of Antandec – from money saving ‘Mini Mochas’ to an ingenious brick subscription service that promises to get you on the property ladder in just a few months. But, six months in, there’s a hitch. Or rather, a copyright infringement claim, as it appears there’s an uncanny resemblance between the Bank of Antandec and Santander logos.

The campaign kicks off 4th January with a teaser film where Ant and Dec address the claims in a press conference and declare their innocence, revealing that the surprising source of inspiration behind their logo came from a baguette, not a flame.

This is followed on 5th January with a 60” TV spot in which Ant and Dec introduce their new high-tech mortgage smartbot, Stan. Meanwhile, Santander is offering customers some certainty on mortgages, with fixed rates for up to ten years.

The campaign was developed by ENGINE and directed by Declan Lowney at Another Film Company. Carat has planned a fully integrated media approach that will see the campaign roll out on TV, cinema, video on demand, social, digital display, radio as well as the bank's owned channels, including branches and the Santander UK website.

Dan Sherwood, interim chief marketing officer at Santander, commented: “The Bank of Antandec has been our most talked about campaign and this new ad is the latest instalment in the development of Britain’s newest bank.

We want to get across an important message about mortgages, but we also want people to feel good about their finances. We hope the latest ads will help people see the benefits of our mortgage range whilst also raising a smile.”

Ant and Dec said: “It’s been really fun getting back into the world of the Bank of Antandec. In this latest instalment we are revolutionising the world of finance with our very own smartbot Stan and dealing with a small copyright issue!”

Billy Faithfull, chief creative officer at ENGINE, commented: “As Britain’s newest genuine-real-fake-bank, the Bank of Antandec really do care about how they’re solving their customers’ needs. It’s a pleasure to work with people so dedicated about the complex world of banking. Can’t wait to see what they come up with next.”