The campaign, developed by the group's advertising agency TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, flighted in South Africa for the first time on 8 October and will flight in other African markets where Standard Bank has a presence.
"Everything we do at Standard Bank is aimed at giving our clients the services and tools they need to get to where they want to be," says Nikki Twomey, head of marketing at Standard Bank.
"No matter who you are or what stage of life you are in, there will always be something you are striving for, the next 'big thing'. We all move forward in different ways, but no matter who you are or where you come from there is one thing we all have in common - how good you feel when you move forward.
"Creating a TV commercial that resonates not only with audiences in South Africa, but also in the rest of Africa, while encapsulating the entire spectrum of Standard Bank's brand, was admittedly a tall order."
The brief to the agency was to identify a universal idea that would give meaning and relevance to the pay off line 'Moving Forward' and also celebrate the positive emotion experienced by people. Matthew Brink and Adam Livesey, joint executive creative directors of the agency, say creating an advert that would capture the essence of what was wanted was a complex and collaborative process.
"It's not often that you get to make a television commercial of this magnitude and international reach," says Livesey.
"We were lucky to have a client that believed in this project and allowed us to bring it to life. This advertisement was a huge undertaking from filming, sourcing the right soundtrack, to getting rights to all of the footage," says Brink.
In particular, they point to the many technical and editing feats undertaken during production, which they believe demonstrate that South Africa boasts skills in this field that are world-class.
"One of the biggest challenges was to ensure that the old footage was finished perfectly, so no one would ever challenge whether the singers in some of the scenes were actually there or not," adds Brink.
The television commercial is supported by a variety of other campaign elements including an outdoor campaign that spans South Africa and other African countries and various executions through social media channels. Consumers are able to engage on a campaign website to post and nominate their 'moving forward' moments.
The commercial coincides with Standard Bank's celebration of its 150th anniversary.
