This Campaign Is Taking on the Silence and Shame of Debt
For many creative agencies, campaigns revolving around the subject of debt solution can be a really challenging area. The type of ad you see almost everywhere – from public transit to billboards and TV spots – it’s hard to truly cut through and distinguish a specific offering, especially when, after enough generic pieces of work, people grow desensitised to the category as a whole.
On top of that, there’s also still the struggle to get tone right. Debt is a heavy burden to bear, but is the trick to achieving resonance encouraging, peace-of-mind messaging? Or is it more important to display empathy by capturing the realities people living in such situations face, even if it’s a tad more brutal?
As demonstrated by the recent success of The Local Collective’s work for Farber Debt Solutions, the latter option might just be the play. Recognising that it was time to change up the playbook to once again distinguish the brand, the team launched a new campaign titled ‘Break Up With Your Debt’, designed to jolt Canadians into action. Depicting debt as a real figure in people’s lives – made entirely of crumpled-up receipts – each of the three hero spots and supporting OOH explored the real weight of these sorts of situations, whilst likening it to a bad, toxic relationship. Designed to tackle the silence and shame that comes with debt, the message was precise and clear: break free of minimum payments and constant stress, and seize the way out.
To learn more about how this campaign came together, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with The Local Collective’s co-founder and chief creative officer, Matt Litzinger, for a chat.
LBB> From the top, what was the brief for this campaign? How did it influence your ideation process?
Matt> The last two years’ campaigns have been extremely successful, and Farber is leading its category with its approach to communication. A side effect of category-leading work is imitation, however, and because we’ve seen a lot of competitors starting to follow the approach in the last few years, this year, we knew it was time to elevate our communication again, deepening the connection with people in serious debt.
LBB> Specifically, you took inspiration from the fact that money is one of the longest relationships humans will ever have. How did you come across this sentiment, and why did it feel right for the campaign’s creative direction?
Matt> Great question! This insight is a great example of how we approach strategy at The Local Collective.
Every campaign we create starts with one core question: ‘What is a real person going to feel when they see this in the world?’. That is very different from sitting in a boardroom or reviewing ‘reasons to believe’ in a brief. There is often a big gap between what looks good on paper, and how something lands when someone is just going about their day. Starting from the human reaction matters, because brands can have great meetings and still end up with mediocre growth if they skip that step.
We are speaking with people, not ‘segmented target groups’. And if we think about people first… well, all of us interact with money. We all get stressed about money; we all get excited about money. Through different stages of our lives, money is something that’s omnipresent. Even something as simple as giving a kid their first piece of paper money versus a coin shows how early and emotional that relationship can be.
That human truth became the foundation of the strategy. From there, we could layer in very real emotional states – including what someone in severe debt might be feeling – without losing empathy or oversimplifying the experience.
Starting from the people piece is what opens a more powerful creative process. It’s also how you get to work that leads the category, which is exactly what we were aiming to do for Farber.
LBB> Building on this, what led to you avoiding ‘peace-of-mind’ messaging in favour of something a little bolder? And how did you ensure you struck the right tone to cut through?
Matt> Farber has such a great understanding of what it feels like to be its customers. Most of the traditional work you see in this category is, as you’ve mentioned, very ‘peace of mind’. But often, that seems so far away from the customers’ daily experience and mindset that it feels almost oblivious to what people are feeling. It’s like telling someone with a broken leg that once they heal, they’ll be doing high jumps… and literally showing someone high jumping, when the person with the broken leg is only worried about how to take a shower without getting their cast wet.
Tonally, we wanted to make sure the work was relatable and memorable. Most people tend to remember their bad relationships, so that also helped make the ads even more accessible.
LBB> What was planning for each of the three spots like? How did you come up with these exact scenarios, and why did they feel like the right way to support the message that there is a way out with debt?
Matt> We developed numerous executions (as we tend to do when we’re working on an idea). It helps us understand the limits of the approach, what works and doesn’t, and why, so we generally always have a bunch of solutions once an area is ‘cracked’.
These three scenarios just felt like the right way to tell the story from an initial ‘launch’ of the approach. They represent three moments that someone may share with a bad partner that are relatable. Not being helpful, not being thoughtful, and just being selfish in general. Like debt.
LBB> Making a person out of crumpled receipts is visually striking. At what point did you know this would be possible, and how did you work to bring this element to life?
Matt> Right from the get-go, we knew we wanted to create this as an analogue solution. There’s a nuance to doing things that help not only the concept and the imagery, but also the talent. It aids the actor’s performance when they are working with an actual element versus a green-screened thing, or a full make-believe, AI-inspired image.
Here, we worked with the amazing folks at Builders Anonymous to develop the ‘debt suit’. It was so fun! Our director, Nikki Ormerod (Undivided Creative), played a significant role in its crafting, and together we were able to bring it to life. Our client partners at Farber were amazing as well – everyone seemed to really elevate the original vision and made it better.
LBB> With that in mind, how was filming? Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from on set?
Matt> I can’t say enough about the filming experience. It was amazing! The full crew really brought their A-game to the project. Working with Undivided and Nikki made everything flow so smoothly. It was great to see things unfold as they did.
One of the things I especially loved was how quickly we were able to fail. If we collectively could tell a motion or moment that looked great on paper wasn’t landing, we pivoted immediately, rather than wasting time trying to make it something. Often, that doesn’t happen.
LBB> Despite the brevity of the spots, each of the actors makes the most of their screentime. How did you work to elevate their performances and make them connect with the audience?
Matt> The casting choices were wonderful, and each talent really understood the ask. I think there’s so much magic that can happen in a single set up. We challenged ourselves to let the performances within each scenario play out, and having the camera be stationary really allowed us to witness each moment unfold. It also lengthened the time, keeping it as one long take.
All the talent was great. Good actors, being directed by a great director. A perfect combination. And something that should also be noted: the editing. The most difficult thing with one-take is the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’. Our editor, Jon Devries at School Editing, was a wizard. It made these moments perfect, because of the 15 seconds he found within longer moments.
LBB> The sound work for the spots also really elevates the tone of the spots. Who did you work with to bring this element of the campaign to life?
Matt> Thanks for saying that – we’re so happy with how it turned out.
We worked with the fine folks at The Inlaws Audio House. Spencer Hall and Adam Esker worked seamlessly with us, and really brought the delicate hand needed. The ambiance of each scene really hit the right tone. And the sound design over the supers just brings the whole idea home. It creates a cinematic vibe to the spots, while also letting the viewer sense that it’s just gonna get worse. It’s a looming sensation, just like debt.
LBB> What challenges did you face in the making of this campaign, and how did you overcome them? And what lessons did you learn in the process?
Matt> Honestly, I’m pleased to say there were no major challenges. That being said, I think we made a point to challenge ourselves collectively. No one was easily satisfied, and everyone took their role in the project personally. You can sense that in the work.
As for lessons, I’m not sure it was a new one, but rather more of a reminder that great client partners enable the work, and great production partners elevate it. So, choose well.
LBB> Since launch, how have people responded to the work?
Matt> It’s still early in the campaign, but from what we are seeing, it’s performing exceptionally well. We talk about this all the time – bold campaigns deliver bold results. And that is exactly what we are witnessing with this new work.
LBB> Finally, is there an element of this campaign you’re most proud of?
Matt> Our team and everyone involved. I know that’s cliché, but really, on this one, everyone really came together. And I love that.
