Meridian Bank plays to the spirit of individualism

Meridian Bank’s latest advert, World of Numbers, expertly appeals to the desire for personal recognition.

British surrealist TV series The Prisoner (1967-1968) was among the country's most successful US exports of the decade, thanks in no small part to its theme of the individual’s eternal need for recognition. In an iconic scene, the imprisoned protagonist, who is only referred to as ‘Number Six’ exclaims: “I am not a number! I am a free man!”.

It’s hard to imagine that this series wasn’t part of the inspiration for Meridian Bank’s striking new ad by Elemental, in which various characters are reduced to mere numbers—in their case, account numbers—in a dystopian world where names have become obsolete.

Dystopian parallels

Director Dan French amplifies the concept through clever production design (reportedly to a very tight budget) and a series of deadpan vignettes. The pervasive gloom of depersonalisation is omnipresent and strangely relatable throughout.

The ad is, of course, a stab at Meridian’s competitors, who treat customers like faceless numbers. In contrast, the protagonist is eventually guided through mysterious doors into a new realm, symbolising the far more human approach offered by Meridian.

Our take

“What’s in a name?”, the bard once asked.

Quite a lot, it turns out, especially in an age where ‘bespoke’, ‘personalised’ and ‘unique’ are thrown around in adland to the point where they’ve lost all meaning. Elemental’s film for Meridian attempts to reclaim these terms by depicting a world without them.

The Orwellian themes of surveillance and depersonalisation feel all the more apt in today’s society, which is dominated by Big Data and AI. All of this would be moribund without the carefully curated cinematic visuals and sound design, which really hit home.