
Rival's Awkward Premature Award Celebrations Underline Nationwide's Success
Created by Mother, the work celebrates the bank's recent win of Which? Banking Brand Of The Year prize
14 October 2025
Nationwide returns to screens from today with the sixth instalment of its 'A.N.Y. Bank' advertising series, celebrating the brand's recent win of the Which? Banking Brand of the Year award – and poking fun at the premature celebrations of its fictional rival.
Created by Mother, the latest chapter sees the return of Dominic West as Hugo, the CEO of A.N.Y. Bank, alongside long-suffering assistant Danuj, played by Sunil Patel. The setting is a lavish party thrown to celebrate what the CEO believes is their surefire win of the prestigious Which? Award for Banking Brand of the Year 2025. The celebration features all the trappings of a meticulously pre-planned victory party – a live band, six thousand "winners" shirts, a celebratory blimp, an elaborate cake, and more. There's just one problem: mid-party, Danuj breaks the news that Nationwide has actually won the award – not them!
Each increasingly awkward over-the-top celebration further cements Nationwide's genuine commitment to putting members first – something that doesn't go unnoticed by independent consumer champions.
'A.N.Y. Bank' has been Nationwide's creative platform since 2023; previous iterations have focused on the mutual ownership structure and how the brand is free to make decisions in the best interests of members, not shareholders. With Dominic West playing the CEO we all love to loathe, the series has helped to highlight Nationwide's point of difference versus the big banks.
And in a slight departure from West’s immortalised catchphrase of “Smoothie me!”, “Muffin me!” and most recently “Squeegee me!”, Sunil takes the reins in the latest comedic spot with a well-timed “Blimp me!” as he ushers in a giant helium balloon as part of West’s short-lived celebration.
Richard Warren, Director of Brands & Marketing at Nationwide, said: “Being named Which? Banking Brand of the Year is a huge honour and a testament to how we put our members first every day. This ad celebrates that achievement in typically playful A.N.Y. Bank style, while reminding people why being a mutual, not a bank, makes all the difference as we are owned by our members – not shareholders.”
Dickie Connell, Creative Director at Mother, said: "This instalment is pure wish-fulfilment for Dominic West's character – all the ego-driven excess you'd expect when a bank jumps the gun. It's a fun way to celebrate a genuine win while hammering home what makes Nationwide different: they actually earned it by putting members first."
The campaign will run in cinema, on TV, BVOD and YouTube. Nationwide partners with a number of best-in-class agencies; the roster includes Mother for creative, Uncovered for social, The Romans for public relations and Wavemaker for media.
Credits
Brand: Nationwide
Client: Richard Warren, Director of Brands & Marketing
Campaign: A.N.Y. Bank - Which?
Creative: Mother
Director: Bryan Buckley
Production Company: Hungry Man
Edit House: Work Editorial
Post House: Rascal
Sound House: King Lear
Media: Wavemaker