St James Place 'Invaluable Advice' Ogilvy 3

St. James’s Place unveils its first nationwide campaign

The emotive ad by Ogilvy UK shows the life confidence gained from bespoke financial advice

By creative salon

14 March 2024

Financial advice company St. James’s Place (SJP) has unveiled a campaign that celebrates the importance of tailored one-to-one financial advice in life, beginning this weekend on Saturday evening, 16 March.

‘Invaluable Advice’ by Ogilvy UK is SJP’s first ever national brand marketing campaign. The touching creative is inspired by real client stories and follows Joe and Hannah on a single father’s life journey bringing up his daughter and the crucial and positive role played by his financial adviser Zara.

Led by creative agency Ogilvy UK, a WPP collaboration with media agency Mindshare and brand transformation agency Landor, the brief was to instil pride and confidence in the value of advice for UK consumers. Ogilvy UK’s behavioural science division, the largest in the world, has collaborated in the development of the strategy and creative.

Working with Academy Films’ award-winning director Frederic Planchon and photographer Peter Funch, the campaign includes a cinematic 90-second online, 60-second television commercial (TVC) with 30-second and 10-second edits, social, VOD, online film, Out of Home (OOH) and radio. ‘Invaluable Advice’ launches on Saturday on ITV1 during the France v England Guinness Six Nations rugby match, the final game of the Championship.

Claire Blackwell, Chief Client and Reputation Officer at St. James’s Place, said: “This campaign is about the value financial advice plays in the lives of our clients and how it positively impacts them and their loved ones. At SJP we are committed to providing quality, long-term, one-to-one advice. Our brand campaign has been beautifully executed by our Ogilvy, Mindshare and Landor partners, along with Academy Films, and sensitively portrays how personal advice invaluably guides us through all of life’s ups and downs.”

Nicola Wood and Andy Forrest, Executive Creative Directors, Ogilvy UK, added: “Our campaign is an emotive and beautifully observed film of a single dad advising his daughter and in turn taking advice from his trusted financial adviser. We have fused behavioural science, creativity and strategic insight into the story, which further unfolds in OOH and radio as we explore the special bond between dad and daughter.

“What really excites us is the longevity of a platform like ‘Invaluable Advice’. It’s one of those ideas that can evolve and grow.”

Jem Lloyd-Williams, CEO, Mindshare UK, commented: “It’s been fantastic to work in partnership with Ogilvy and Landor to deliver SJP’s first national brand advertising campaign. Through a multi-channel campaign that encompasses TV, BVOD, Online Video, Radio, Out of Home, and Social, we’ve ensured the brilliant creative will reach the SJP audience at scale through a choice of media that reflects a brief built around the quality, long term, and one-to-one nature of the advice that SJP offers their customers. High-quality sites and formats have been selected specifically and deliberately to build brand salience and align SJP with 'Invaluable Advice' in context.”