Santander: Fraud Detecting Scammer Pants

The song U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer never gets old. It has been used in many ads like Cheetos Super Bowl commercials.

This time is Santander time with its new advert “Stop, Hammer time!” a spot created by the advertising agency House 337 and Merman in consultation with Mitre Studios. The line ‘Hammer time’ changed to ‘Scammer time.’

Once you’ve seen the Bank of Antandec make a song and dance about tackling fraud and scams…you’ll be relieved to know that at least Santander is taking scams very seriously, advising people to stop and think before parting with their money or personal details.

The latest ‘Bank of Antandec’ campaign shows people how to beat the pants off of scams and once again features Ant and Dec as the fictional banking CEOs. This time the boys are on a mission to help customers spot scams before they fall victim to them.

The campaign, ‘Stop! Scammer Time,’ created with House 337 and Merman, in consultation with Mitre Studios, takes a visually humorous look at how to protect yourself from scams. It introduces customers to the new concept that the Bank of Antandec CEOs have developed – ‘Fraud Detecting Scammer Pants’. They warn customers each time someone attempts to scam them by inflating, lighting up, and playing an unforgettable earworm. Meanwhile, Santander takes scams seriously and reminds customers to stop and think before handing over money or personal details.

The ad features the CEOs performing a remixed version of ‘U Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer, with ‘Hammer time’ changed to ‘Scammer time’. Bespoke lyrics underline the ad’s key message.

In response to a year-on-year increase in APP fraud since 2019 recorded by Santander, with victim numbers up by over 40% driven by impersonation and purchase scams, Santander’s latest advertising campaign focuses on protecting yourself from fraud and scams. Reinforcing the national industry fraud prevention campaign ‘Take Five’, the messaging encourages people to stop and think before handing over their money or personal details.

The campaign has been developed to grab attention and resonate with audiences. ‘Stop! Scammer Time’ takes a visually humorous look at how to protect yourself from scams. It introduces customers to the new concept that the ‘Bank of Antandec’s CEOs has come up with: Fraud Detecting Scammer Pants, which warn customers each time someone attempts to scam them by inflating, lighting up, and playing music. Meanwhile, Santander takes scams seriously and reminds people to stop and think before handing over money or personal details.
Dan Sherwood, Director of Marketing Santander UK said, “We know how ruthless these criminals are and the impact they can have on their victims, and unfortunately the number of people falling victim to scams is going up, not down. We’re determined to do what we can to protect people. So we’ve decided to try something different – approaching the topic from a different angle, using the light-hearted nature of the Bank of Antandec to try and force our way into people’s consciousness.

“If we can get people to hear those words ‘Scammertime’ and pause when they’re about to part with money or personal details, then hopefully we can help thwart more of these criminals and stop the harm caused to innocent victims.”

The bank invests heavily in fraud and scam prevention. It is a signatory of the voluntary Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) and is part of several industry initiatives, such as the ‘Take Five’ campaign and 159 Stop Scams.

PROS:

• Well-chosen music
• Good concept
• Good pun

CONS:

• The humor seems forced
• It doesn’t even make you smile

Credits

Client: Santander: Dan Sherwood, Tina Boyle, Chris Parker, Leanne Tomlinson, Katie Attwood, Charlie Murray Biggs, Abigail Sayle

Agency: House 337
Creative Partner Jo Moore
Art Director Paul Hancock
Copywriter Dave Newbold
Creatives Jess Pacey & Alicia Job
Strategy Nicola Dyball – Strategy Director
Duncan McLauchlan – Deputy Head of Strategy
Rob Jennings – Strategist
Account Management Nick Pawlak – Client Managing Director
Nick Cooper – Senior Account Director
Katrina Jackson – Senior Account Director
Kelly Mahon – Account Manager
Agency Producer Bradley Woodus & Victoria Doran
Integrated Project Director Kirsty Wood
Senior Creative Technologist Simon Cummin

Director Guy Manwaring
Production Producer Simon Monhemius
Assistant Director Sam Dawking
Exc Producer Siobhan Murphy
DOP Simon Richards
Offline Editing Charlie Moreton @ The Assembly Rooms
Production company Merman
Post Production Creative Outpost
Post Production Producer Caroline McNulty
Post Production VFX team Tim Gaydon, Burak Atay and Otis Guiness-Walker
Sound Recording Studio Creative Outpost
Sound Engineer Dave Robinson
Music Finger Music