Managing money is a rite of passage for 18-24 year olds – that financial services brands have largely overlooked. House 337 and Current Account Switch Service (CASS) have created a campaign aimed solely at this next generation. It’s groundbreaking (forgive the buzzword) in several ways. The campaign uses social and streaming channels to drive to full-length music videos created by and starring up-and-coming Gen Z artists, featuring Gen Z talent and directed by Gen Z directors – embedding the brand within the spaces they naturally engage with, creating authentic connections beyond traditional media.

Behind the campaign is the insight that this so-called “Generation Permacrisis” has grown up lurching from one upheaval to the next, experiencing a profound sense of lost control. The campaign deliberately reframes the Current Account Switch Service from what many young people perceive as “a banking feature” to what it really is “a power play that puts you in control”.

House 337 produced two original tracks and professionally shot music videos with Gen Z artists, Libby Whitehouse and Keanan, shaping a campaign that behaves more like a song launch than a traditional advertising campaign, blurring the lines between marketing and entertainment.

“This audience isn’t consuming huge amounts of traditional advertising-supported media, so we had to take a completely different approach,” stated Ross Newton, creative partner, House 337. “We’re not buying our place with this audience – we’re earning it by entertaining them and putting them in control of the creative process.

“Call the Shots represents a fundamental shift in how financial services can authentically connect with Gen Z. Rather than talking at them about banking, we’re giving them genuine creative control and platforming real talent. These aren’t actors pretending to be musicians, they’re genuine artists. Helping to boost the careers of these two very talented artists was a key aim, alongside our expected campaign objectives.” The campaign launched with social media teasers before releasing the full-length music videos and tracks on Spotify and Apple Music.

The campaign songs were written and recorded by the artists themselves. The music videos were directed by Bedroom, the British direction duo of Soren Harrison and Amir Hossain, and produced by Friend London. Bedroom has built a reputation directing videos for major artists such as The 1975’s Me & You Together Song, Arlo Parks’s Pegasus (ft. Phoebe Bridgers), and Måneskin’s Supermodel, as well as brand work for Converse, ASOS, and Doc Martens.

“We knew this couldn’t look or feel like a brand campaign. So we approached it like we would with any major music release, working with Libby and Keanan as genuine artists, not as actors. The result is something real, something they can own, and something their audience will recognise as theirs,” stated Bedroom, directing duo, Friend London. “On the flip side, we enjoyed harnessing the cliches and tropes of the genres, both visually and musically, for comedic effect.”

“For this audience, control is something quite alien to them,” added Sam Chapman, senior strategist, House 337. “Life often happens to them. But with the Current Account Switch Service, they can call the shots. They can choose when they switch their account and who they switch to.”

Dawn Lauder, communications delivery lead, CASS parent, Pay.UK, noted, “This campaign tells our audience they have control when it comes to switching their bank account, but just as importantly, it platforms two brilliant up-and-coming artists in the process. We’re genuinely co-creating with Gen Z, for Gen Z. While our aim is to raise awareness of the service, we also want to platform two brilliant artists in the process.”

The full campaign spans TV, BVOD, cinema, YouTube, digital platforms including Captify, Gumgum, Ladbible and Tinder, audio across Acast, Spotify and radio (Capital, KISS, GTN), social media (Meta, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit), and outdoor advertising including special builds and murals.

Credits
Brand: CASS
Communications Delivery Lead: Dawn Lauder 
Marketing Business Partner: Anthea Hughes 

Creative Agency: House 337
Chief Creative Officer: Josh Green
Creative Partner: Ross Newton
Copywriter: Caitlin Chakraborty
Art Director: Indi Morland
Producer: Trent Webster
Assistant Producer: Imogen Ryan
HO Production: Laura Melville
Client Managing Director: Diane Gracie
Business Director: Sally Bishop
Senior Account Director: Chris Johnson
Account Director: Kelly Mahon
Project Director: Sarah Large
Strategy Director: Rebecca Zhang
Senior Strategist: Sam Chapman
Head of Business Affairs: Julie Lagden
Business Affairs Manager: Jade Bailey
Design Director: Joe Chakravorty
Senior Motion Designer: Nick Dinnen

Featuring:
Country: Keanan
Pop: Libby Whitehouse
Music supervision & production: RESISTER MUSIC
Music supervisors: Thomas Cottrell & Hollie Hutton
Country: Keanan “Switch”
Music by Keanan and Star.One
Pop: Libby Whitehouse “Switching It Up”
Music by Libby Whitehouse and Shelly McErlaine

Production Company: FRIEND
Director: Bedroom
Executive Producer: Luke Jacobs
Producer: Mel Giles
Production Manager: Jack Wiles
Production Assistant: Gina Crighton
Production Runner: Stanley ChapmanProduction Runner: Alice Golding
1st AD: Chris Malin
DOP: Luke Harper
1st AC: Samuel Harding

Editing: Work Editorial
Editors: Sam Allen & Jamie Hodgson
Edit Assistant: Toby Fernandez
Edit Producer: Frankie Elster

Post House: No.8 (COUNTRY)
Colourist: Jonny Tully
VFX Lead: Leanne Pletersky
Post Producers: Simon Downie & Natalie Davey
Sound Design: James Everett

Post House: No.8 (POP)
Colourist: Jonny Tully
VFX Lead: Hussein Hassani
Post Producers: Simon Downie & Natalie Davey
Sound Design: James Everett

Social Agency: NAC and ME
Director & Founder: Nicita Botha