Congrats, NatWest. In a world where high-street banks use their ad budgets to limply mimic John Lewis, you’ve gone big. You’ve decided to take on the sum total of human experience. “We are thoughtful,” a voiceover says over an arty black-and-white montage of babies and football hooligans. “We are thoughtless … We are kind and we are cruel. We are creative, destructive, brave, stupid.” A minute later, you reach your conclusion: “We are all what we have done and what we will do.”
This, I’m convinced, is the greatest advert ever made. On the surface it looks like a God’s-eye rumination on the complexities of humanity; the sort of dreamily profound corporate statement that brands simply don’t make any more. But, come on, that’s not what this is. It’s just a really clever way for NatWest to protect itself against customer complaints. “Excuse me,” you’ll tell a cashier after this advert has aired, “I asked for £100. This is just some toilet roll with a face drawn on it.” “Didn’t you see our advert?” they’ll reply. “We told you we were thoughtless.” Then they’ll motion over to their colleague, crouched in a corner, trying to fart into an eggcup. “We’re stupid, too, remember?”
