Hong Leong Bank seeds the dream of success with latest father-daughter video

Hong Leong Bank's (HLB) Deepavali campaign, "Seeding Dreams", aims to drive home the message of how a single act of kindness and compassion can bring about a blessing that pushes someone closer to success.The latest campaign is an extension of the "Menyemai Impian" (Seeding Dreams) theme adopted for HLB's campaign this year. The latest Deepavali campaign also leverages on HLB's savings product to promote the cultivation of a savings habit, especially among the younger generations. NagaDDB Tribal and New Frontier Pictures were involved in the campaign.The two-minute video titled "Appa's Cheeky Dancer", which runs on YouTube and Facebook, showcases a father and his young daughter dancing the classical Indian bharatanatyam. The young girl deviates from traditional steps, incorporating modern dance moves only to her father’s disdain.Only after seeing how his disapproval demotivates his daughter does he realise how much his support and encouragement means to her, as he takes his own first steps in empowering her towards her dreams with compassion and understanding.HLB's CMO, Zalman Zainal, said the bank is pleased that the campaign video has resonated well with consumers and generated positive buzz on social media.“The challenge for any festive campaign is to find a balance between delivering a festive greeting and weaving in brand and product propositions and at the same time, presenting it in a memorable and tasteful manner. For the Deepavali campaign video, we relied on the dramatic expression and staging of the classical Indian bharatanatyam in delivering a simple message and we are pleased that it has managed to touch many viewers from all walks of life.”Domenic Fuda, group managing director and CEO of HLB, said just like how a small act of encouragement can seed a bigger dream, starting a good savings habit early for the young ones is the first step in seeding their dreams for a better future."Our campaign video highlights how one small gesture can inspire and empower others in living their dreams so we hope this Deepavali, parents can also start the small step in encouraging their children to save for their future too," he added.In a statement to A+M, NagaDDB Tribal's copywriter, Prasanna Nara, said "Appa's Cheeky Dancer" is a metaphor for the numerous kids who want to pursue their passion, but are told to be more realistic. It is a common phenomenon that happens not just in the Indian community but among Asians too. She added that since the theme for Hong Leong Bank's first Deepavali campaign is "Seeding Dreams", the team wanted to highlight it with a beautiful cultural twist."Dance and Bharatanatyam has always been an important part of the Indian culture, so it was only fitting to represent the narrative this way. This story hits home for so many people, it didn’t even need dialogue to represent the beauty of it. Instead of filming a conventional festive film, the team decided to explore a fresh angle and enhance the script through lights, music and expression," Nara said.