Sixties cartoon character appears in mortgage advert

May 8, 2016 by Brendan O'Neill

Lenders

Mortgage advisers recently received a little help in a TV promotion created for the Halifax, in the shape of Top Cat, a favourite cartoon character from the 60s.

During the ad campaign, Top Cat (TC) and Benny, his sidekick, visit a local branch of Halifax to borrow money to buy a new home. The mortgage adviser listens while TC explains how his home, which is a trash can, has been “callously crushed.” Meanwhile, a sad tune is being played by Benny on the violin. In the original cartoon series, TC and his gang are always being moved along by Officer Dibble, his enemy who is always on the lookout to evict TC from his rubbish bin home.

The mortgage adviser agrees to help and the cats are next seen in a brand new rubbish bin, which also has windows and a door. The ads were created by Adam & Eve/DDB and written by Jonathan John. The original design for Top Cat was produced by Hanna Barbera. The first episode of Top Cat was aired in 1962 in the UK, with just 30 episodes. These were repeated until the 90s on the BBC, and then on subscriber channels.

The campaign from the Halifax promotes a mortgage offer for home movers and first time buyers, of 1% cash back, and a wider campaign will include online and print adverts.

Mortgage advisers take CeMAP training courses so that they are able to provide suitable advice to help you find a home, hopefully a little more substantial than a rubbish bin.