Scotiabank Shines Light on a New Canadian’s Story in ‘Perfect Day’ from Rethink
A follow-up to Scotiabank’s 2022 campaign ‘First Day,’ 'Perfect Day' shines light on a new Canadian’s story and Scotiabank’s role in their life. Perfect Day - created by Rethink - creates a window into the challenges that new Canadians face once they arrive in a new country, filtered through the perspective of a mother working hard to build a new life for her and her daughter.
‘Perfect Day’ was inspired by customer responses to last year’s campaign. When Scotiabank launched ‘First Day,’ hundreds of Canadians shared their personal experiences and stories about moving to Canada. One theme that rang true is that many people decide to move to Canada to give their children a better future. That means going out of their way to shield their children from their own post-arrival hardships and struggles, like finding a job in their field, going back to school to requalify, or making ends meet.
Scotiabank’s goal was to use visual storytelling to offer a sincere, authentic and fresh perspective on the new Canadian experience. In the short film-style spot, we see a thriving young daughter happily unaware of how hard her mom is working behind the scenes. We also hear the mother speaking on the phone to her own mother, giving us a glimpse of the sacrifice it takes to move countries.
Perfect Day was launched in support of Scotiabank’s StartRight programme — a package of cost-free products and services for one year that help new Canadians settle in their new home.
“Arriving in a new country is only the beginning of the journey,” said Kesi Olafimihan, Scotiabank’s VP of Canadian banking marketing and enterprise digital growth. “The post-arrival experience is really what shapes the foundation for the new lives that parents hope to build for their children. Our intention was to create work that feels true to that lived experience.”
Scotiabank understands that every new Canadian is working towards something that’s deeply important to them. From the spot to the still images, the visuals were meticulously crafted to convey that feeling. Thinking beyond cookie-cutter stock imagery often used in ads directed at newcomers, the characters in the spot were chosen because they are a real mother and daughter who recently moved to Canada. The family brought in their own mementos to set to make it feel more like home. The team also added several Scotia cues through the spot, from the Scotia Daily Banking App to the ‘Hockey Jersey’, to show how Scotiabank supports this family in big and small ways.
Similarly, throughout the rest of the campaign, images feature real first generation Canadians, photographed in places that were specific to their new Canadian journey, whether it was their homes or their favourite restaurant. The stills include the financial advice they would give themselves upon first arrival. The hope was for the advice to feel like anecdotes — rather than ad headlines — to better connect with a range of new Canadians.
The spot was created in three languages: English, French, and Hinglish, a conversational mix of Hindi and English. It was important to the team behind this campaign that the characters speak to each other in their native language to highlight an experience that is common among many newcomers but often happen behind closed doors.
“Moving to a new country can be an exciting but daunting experience,” says Olafimihan. “Our goal at Scotiabank is to remove barriers and create smoother pathways for newcomers to start their new life in Canada by providing them with sound financial advice throughout every stage of life, whether that’s purchasing a first home, starting a business, or planning for their retirement.”
Canadians can see the commercial in cinemas, as well as on YouTube. The cinematic spot will be supported with OOH, and digital and social ads featuring real quotes from new Canadians.
