“Walk on, walk on, With hope in your heart, And you’ll never walk alone, You’ll never walk alone…” Yep, this week we’re on Merseyside – via TBWA Singapore of all places – for a new Standard Chartered campaign celebrating a decade of the financial services firm’s partnership with Liverpool Football Club.
The initiative, which breaks this week, features a soundtrack recorded by music producer and singer Astraea, with a “unique” rendition of the “You’ll Never Walk Alone” anthem. [Not that unique, just sung by a young woman that’s all.]
According to director Rollo Jackson, the activity pays homage to the Kop’s estimated 700 million fans worldwide, capturing the feeling of hope, disappointment and euphoria Liverpool fans the world over have experienced.
But apart from the last week or so, the disappointments have been few and far between for nearly 12 months. The club lifted their sixth Champions League/European Cup trophy last June and are Premiership Champions elect, with a 22-point cushion.
The film was shot in Liverpool and features all manner of Scousers, as well as capturing recognisable sights and sounds in and around the city, from Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold’s mural to the roar of Anfield stadium.
Standard Chartered global head of brand and marketing Emma Sheller enthused: “Liverpool is arguably the most decorated club in English football history, and we are so proud to have stood by as a partner these past ten years. This film marks an important milestone in a journey that reflects our commitment of being ‘Here for good’ and standing by the Club through thick and thin.
“Our relationship goes above and beyond sponsorship – it is a shared connection based on values and heritage that has enabled us to create unique, purposeful moments for clients, communities and supporters across the world.” [It has set them back the best part of £250m, too.]
So what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office, which, perhaps surprisingly given its South Coast location and proximity to Surrey, does not contain a single Red? Will our motley crew of dirty Chelsea, desperate Bolton, doomed Brighton, and tetchy Tranmere fans revolt at such Scouser self-indulgence or have the Reds under Jürgen Norbert Klopp won everyone’s grudging respect?
Well, not everyone, of course, but some are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. [That may or may not have something to do with Stevie “Marmite” G now being way out of the picture, 219.3 miles north in Glasgow.]
The film skips along nicely, although it may already need a quick edit as former player Daniel Sturridge (at 00:38s) – who has just been slapped with a four-month ban for breaching betting rules – takes a starring role.
Whether it will make us rush into the arms of Standard Charter is another matter; it neither gives us a reason to or tells us what exactly Standard Charter does.
Still, as Astraea’s take on the Rodgers and Hammerstein ditty goes: “When you walk through a storm, Hold your head up high, And don’t be afraid of the dark, At the end of the storm, There’s a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of the lark. Walk on, walk on, With hope in your heart, And you’ll never walk alone, You’ll never walk alone…”
Decision Marketing Adometer: No resounding victory but a perfectly respectable 7½ out of ten
