Current Account Switch Service helps young people level up their finances

Wonderhood Studios has launched the latest instalment of ‘Call the Shots’, its campaign for Pay.UK’s Current Account Switch Service. Teaming up with emerging Gen Z artist Nova May, the work is designed to encourage 18-24-year-olds to take greater control of their finances and consider switching to a current account that’s better suited to them.

The campaign builds on the success of ‘Call the Shots’, which last year delivered the biggest jump in awareness from a single campaign in the Current Account Switch Service’s history. For 2026, Wonderhood Studios has evolved the platform to reframe switching from tedious, forgettable financial admin into a power move – a simple way for young people to take greater control of their money and ‘level up’ their banking.

The strategy responds to a generation that craves greater control but often feels life happens to them, while many remain unaware that they can easily switch their current account. At the same time, 18-24-year-olds are quick to filter out advertising that feels irrelevant to them – particularly traditional banking communications. So, rather than simply buying their attention, Wonderhood Studios set out to captivate them by creating entertainment they would actively choose to spend time with.

At the heart of the campaign is Nova May’s original track, ‘Level Up’, created with music supervision from RESISTER. Written and performed in Nova’s own style, the song weaves the Current Account Switch Service’s core messages into its lyrics, turning the mechanics of switching into a track about putting yourself first, taking control and making a change for the better.

The accompanying music video, directed by Femi Oladigbolu through PRETTYBIRD, sees Nova move through a series of playful, surreal worlds inspired by gaming and the idea of ‘levelling up’. Blending live action with 2D and 3D animation, the film brings the track’s message of progression and control to life while deliberately eschewing the conventions of traditional financial services advertising.

The approach builds on a principle established in the first year of ‘Call the Shots’: rather than behave like a bank campaign, behave like a music release. This year, the idea has evolved beyond a campaign line to become the organising principle for the wider work, designed to generate new talent, stories, content and collaborations while consistently connecting back to the control switching can give consumers.

Nicola Hamilton, Head of Communications at Pay.UK, said: “For many young people, their first current account is something they’ve simply always had, rather than something they’ve actively chosen. We want them to know they don’t have to stick with an account that no longer works for them. The Current Account Switch Service makes switching free, simple and guaranteed, and ‘Call the Shots’ brings that message to life in a way that we hope feels relevant, entertaining and empowering.”

Ross Newton, Creative Partner at Wonderhood Studios, added: “Nobody in our Gen Z audience is waiting for an ad about switching bank accounts to drop, so we wanted to make something worthy of their attention. ‘Level Up’ explains how the Current Account Switch Service works and the benefits of taking control of your banking, but frames it as a high-energy financial glow-up. By telling that story through a banger of a track and a full-on mixed media music video, we hope to truly captivate our audience.”

The campaign launches on 11 September across TV, VOD, cinema, YouTube, online video, social, digital, OOH and radio, alongside influencer activity.

Media planning and buying by the7stars builds on the campaign’s entertainment-first approach, embedding CASS in the content and experiences 18-24-year-olds actively choose. Centred around music, socialising and entertainment, the plan launches by targeting university students during Freshers, before broadening to the wider 18-24 audience.

Activity includes music and entertainment genre targeting across Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix, Vevo VOD, a bespoke Snapchat Lens, contextual online video, audio and social, alongside OOH including bus wraps across university cities.

A partnership with LADbible, ‘Switch Up The Session’, will extend the idea through music-led social content and audience participation, bringing the campaign’s switching message into spaces where young people are already engaging with music and entertainment.

Helena Maidlow, Account Director at the7stars, said: “Young people aren’t hard to reach – the challenge is earning their attention. Last year we planned around how 18-24-year-olds naturally consume media; this year we’ve gone further, focusing on what they actively choose to spend time with and talk about. From our LADbible partnership to placing the campaign alongside the music and entertainment they love, we’re making the Current Account Switch Service part of the content they’re already engaging with, rather than interrupting it.”

Credits:

Client – Current Account Switch Service
Marketing Business Partner – Anthea Hughes
Comms Delivery Lead – Dawn Lauder
Brand and Marketing Officer – Jamie Deans

Agency – Wonderhood Studios
Josh Green: Chief Creative Officer

Creative Partner – Ross Newton
Creatives – Indi Morland & Caitlin Chakraborty
Business Director – Sally Bishop
Senior Account Director – Chris Johnson
Senior Account Manager – Pia Bhatt
Strategy Director – Rebecca Zhang
Senior Strategist – Sam Chapman
Producer – Trent Webster
Associate Producer – Imogen Ryan
Deputy Head of Production – Laura Melville
Head of Business Affairs – Julie Lagden
Business Affairs Manager – Jade Bailey
Design Director – Joe Chakravorty
Designer – Emma Gray

Music Supervision – RESISTER
Music Supervisors – Thomas Cottrell & Isobel Clark
Artist – Nova May
Track – ‘Level Up’
Composed by – Nova May & Indigo Kxd

Production Company – PRETTYBIRD
Director – Femi Oladigbolu
Managing Director – Emily Rudge
Director of Production – Fiona Bamford-Phillips
Executive Producer – Mayling Wong
Producer – Jordi Estapé Montserrat
Production Manager – Jamie Tarr
Production Assistant – Cheruto Wang
Production Runners – Amber Foster & Kris Darnley-Hinds
Location Manager – Titus Penate
Location Assistant – Wayne Green
1st Assistant Director – Philips Nortey
2nd Assistant Director – Carmen du Preez

AD Runner – Nevaeh Zeini-McLean
Director of Photography – Stefan Yap
Focus Puller – Oliver Bingham
Clapper Loader – Maya Belle
DIT – Elliott Chyi
Playback Op – Nat Valente
Online Editor – Tim Payne
Online Edit Assistant – Morgan Perry
VFX Clean Up – B.Art
VFX Producer – Natali Borte
Motion Graphic Design – Joshua Westwell
Key Grip – Steve Wells
Grip Assistants – Conor Crook & Natasha Remington
Gaffer – Joe Sherno
Electricians – Jovan Lawrence, Will Ansell & Kieran Brown
Electrician Trainee – Fin Meehan
Choreographer – Suzette Brissett
Production Designer – Tim Gibson
Master Props – Louis Glickman
Props – Louis Ruscombe-King, Liam Green & Berhan Madhaen
Hair/Make-up Artist – Cynthia De La Rosa
Hair/Make-up Assistant – Jennifer Glynn
Hair/Make-up Shadow – Toyosi Agbaniyaka
Stylist – Buki Ebiesuwa
Styling Assistants – Coline Anglard & Halyna Gali Humeniuk 

Edit House – Trim Editing
Producer – Jack Lloyd
Editor – Laura Cairney-Keize

Animation – Eddy Production & Eddy Studio
Head of Animation Department – Emilie Walmsley
Head of Productions – Mihoko Soulié
Producer – Maria Markova
Line Producer – Isa Taoui
Animation Creative Leads – Léo Brunel & Raphaël Chiapparin

2D Animation
Character Design – Raphaël Chiapparin
Background Design – Sébastien Kirszenblat
Animation – Yoann Leclerc & Matis Inserra
FX – Simon Valenza
Compositing – Benjamin Wizman

3D Animation
Characters, Background, Lighting & Compositing – Léo Brunel
Rig – Manon Grabette
Animation – Carla Sampaio da Silva

Sound – Sine Audio
Head of Production – Aishah Amodu
Creative Director/Sound Engineer – Jack Hallet

Grade – ETC
Grade Producer – Alex Carswell
Colour Grade – Jason Wallis @ ETC

Doll Creation – Lou Beauchard & Elsa Philippe
Unreal Engine Animator – Buse Simon

Media – the7stars