Do meet your heroes: working with Sir Trevor McDonald

Nationwide on board

Tom Hall (TH): So, let’s talk about the new Nationwide campaign. How did you get involved, and how long have you been working with them?

Jack Moriarty (JM): We’re in the first year of our partnership with Nationwide, and this is my first project with them. As soon as we were announced as its agency, I was desperate to get involved. It's an iconic brand and the team was already starting to make some top work with them.

TH: What was the previous work you did for it?

JM: We launched ‘NationFried’, a full takeover of a chicken shop to promote its student offering. If you signed up as a student, you got £120 in Just Eat vouchers, plus £100 cash on top. We did a full takeover of a high-street shop and put GK Barry and Harry Pinero behind the counter. It was so packed, I wasn’t even invited down!

TH: I’ve got a mortgage with them, might have to chase up my £50!

JM: You should! People keep asking me for their £50, but I’m not the one handing them out. The letters should go out this week, and next week the money drops, so keep an eye out.

Concept development

TH: How did the concept for the new advert come about, and how did Sir Trevor get involved?

JM: The overarching theme was ‘The Big Nationwide Thank You’ and the campaign was all about showing gratitude to our members for helping make the purchase of Virgin Money possible.

We explored different ideas, but we really wanted something that would resonate with the 12 million strong members from across the country. After a brief conversation with the team, who are from all over the UK, we realised none of us say ‘thank you’ in the same way. This simple spark felt like incredibly rich territory for us to bring that overarching brand message to life in a way that could truly resonate with communities across Britain.

TH: And bringing in Sir Trevor, was that an early decision?

JM: It felt like a natural fit. Given how big the news was, we needed someone with gravitas. Who better than the man who was the voice of the nation for so long?

His iconic voice made the message resonate, and then we passed it on to Nationwide employees from all over the UK to share their gratitude in their dialect. That felt really meaningful.

Working with Sir Trevor

TH: And how was he to work with? As legendary as his reputation?

JM: Absolute gent. Hard to imagine otherwise. From our very first chat with him, he instantly asked to be referred to as simply ‘Trevor’, which I think gives you an idea of just how genuine and humble he is, despite being a true British icon. He fully bought into the concept and even committed to leaning into more playful parts of the script. At 85, he was completely on the ball, smashed through the script, and even insisted on redoing takes if he wasn’t happy. The man is a true professional.

Reception and impact

TH: And how has the work been received?

JM: Phenomenal. The campaign has been one of the best-performing pieces of social content on Nationwide’s channels. Internally, it was a hit too. Employees from all levels were involved, even those who had worked in branches for decades. Seeing them step into this world with cameras and a full production team was surreal but rewarding.

Externally, social media has been flooded with praise. Loads of people commenting on how much they respect Trevor and how great the campaign is. We generated huge coverage, and I think it really reinforced Nationwide’s community-driven brand identity.

Closing remarks

TH: Sounds like a dream campaign. Big win all around.

JM: Yeah, definitely. We put in a lot of work in a short time. We could’ve gone even bigger. There are so many ways people say “thank you” across the UK, but we kept it tight. Working with Trevor and the production team was incredible, and the client was fantastic to work with too.