This Investment Service and Gabriel Macht Inspired Canadians with the Power of Zero
Canadian investment service Questrade, alongside partner creative agency No Fixed Address (NFA), made a splash in January when they launched a new campaign emphasising that the modern financial system is forcing people to dream smaller. They wanted to encourage viewers to get what they really deserve.
While buzzworthy, gathering a good amount of chatter across the country, it actually turned out that this was a setup for something even bigger: the announcement of zero commission trading… on Super Bowl Sunday. Launching six weeks after the first edition, the company broke the game-changing news with two spots and the unveiling of new out-of-home ads, all of which were centred around the one and only Gabriel Macht – a man known for playing characters that get ahead (such as Harvey Specter from ‘Suits’).
Creatively speaking, one of the films, ‘Quotes’, centred around a line from Jonathan Swift, while the other, ‘Zero to Hero’, served as the campaign’s hook – designed to reframe the number as something with unlimited possibility, rather than the typical nothing it’s associated with. In both cases, the Kevin Bray-directed work stylishly and confidently reinforced the original platform messaging on one of the biggest advertising nights of the year, reminding viewers that with Questrade, they can take their financial wellbeing into their own hands.
To learn more about the creative process, and what it took to bring the second act in the doubleheader to life, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with NFA executive creative director Jamie Marcovitch for a chat.
LBB> Creating a Big Game spot is no small task! What was the brief, and what made expanding on the platform you launched earlier this year the right creative direction?
Jamie> The brief was surprisingly simple: We were handed industry-changing news in zero commission trading, and we needed to share it in the biggest way possible, on the biggest stage… the Super Bowl. No pressure, haha.
Earlier in the year, we set up the pins by revealing that the old financial system has forced us all to dream smaller. We opened people’s eyes. So, now that we had zero commission trading, we had a powerful tool to help people actually start getting theirs, and this was our way of knocking those pins down.
LBB> Of course, let’s talk about the centre point of the work – Gabriel Macht. How did you get him involved, and why was he the right man for the job?
Jamie> Gabriel and the characters he’s played span a wide target. And, with the resurgence of his show, ‘Suits’, everyone from gen z to gen x knows his face and his attitude.
We wanted a wider audience to see the benefit of zero commission trading. With news this big, we knew the campaign had to be even bigger, stopping Canadians in their tracks and making them see all the possibilities. So, who better to make the announcement than Gabriel – a man renowned for playing characters that know what it means to ‘Get Yours’ (Questrade’s new platform)? There’s an empowering confidence and swagger he brings that elevates everything he says. He’s magnetic.
LBB> Creatively speaking, what inspired you to centre the work around the themes of ‘zero is hero’, and a Jonathan Swift quote. Where did these specific insights come from, and why were they right for the platform?
Jamie> It was all about reframing zero. People think zero is nothing, and we wanted investors to see that zero has unlimited possibilities.
‘Zero is hero’ was a great turn of phrase to help position this twist. And the Swift quote was a great leaping off point to turn the dusty old financial system on its head. But at the end of the day, they both became powerful hooks for an actor like Gabriel to sink his teeth into.
LBB> What was the writing process like for each? How did you ensure the dialogue stayed tonally accurate to some of the characters you might see Gabriel play on TV?
Jamie> We watched a lot of Gabriel’s work to get a sense of his cadence. From there, we gave the words a drumbeat that fell into his rhythm. He tells people how it is. It’s tough love. And he has these great quotable mic drop moments. We worked hard to give Gabriel dialogue that would allow him to chew up a little scenery and drop a few mics, so to speak.
LBB> How did the shoot go? Where did you film, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from on set?
Jamie> The shoot was a bit of a whirlwind. Questrade had been working on the offer for a while, but when the details got locked, we had barely three weeks until the Big Game. So, we knew that if we wanted to be on that big stage, we’d need a hurry-up offence!
Overall, even with the rush, the shoot was a blast. We had great set design and gave Gabriel the space to do his thing. And having Kevin Bray, a director who’d worked with him in the past and helped him develop his most famous character, was especially exciting. It was great to see the shorthand between the two of them.
LBB> Like the first iteration, this campaign was also supported by an OOH component. What was the design process like? How did you make it fresh, while keeping true to the platform themes you’d already established?
Jamie> Honestly, we just wanted to bring Gabriel into the world of ‘Get Yours’. The look and feel of our OOH was a great blueprint to bring in new copy lines and models… And we just so happened to have a pretty famous model this time around!
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Jamie> The only challenge was getting it all done in time for the Super Bowl. But because of this, we discovered pretty quickly that with the right partners working with you in lockstep – ones like Nimiopere, Grayson Music, Alter Ego, Studio Feather, Frank Content and IndependentMedia – there’s really nothing you can’t do.
LBB> What lessons have you learned from the making of this campaign?
Jamie> One thing is the power of a really good spokesperson! When you get the right celebrity – one that really feels like a good fit for a brand – it’s a magical thing!
We also learned that sometimes, having no time to overthink leads to the best work.
LBB> Since launch, how have people responded to this campaign?
Jamie> People are loving it. They especially enjoy the fit with Gabriel and Questrade.
On a personal note, I love the fact that I’ve finally created something that my two impossible-to-please teenage kids think is pretty cool.
LBB> Finally, aside from being able to impress your teenagers, is there a part of this campaign you’re most proud of?
Jamie> The teamwork that brought this all together in record time is really what I’m most proud of!
