When UK mortgage broker and lender, Habito, conducted research into getting a mortgage some unseductive statistics cropped up. One in ten (9%) couples surveyed, or nearly half a million Britons, admitted that getting a new mortgage stressed them out so much they weren’t intimate with their partner during the entire process. One in twenty (6%) confessed it caused them to sleep in separate rooms.
Nearly half (45%) of homeowner couples said they argued while taking out their home loan. One in five couples admitted to arguing at least once or twice a day. 27% of home buyers said that worrying about mortgage applications put them in a bad mood. 12% admitted to spending less time together as a couple during the process. Women were found to be twice as likely than men to worry about the mortgage application. More than one in five women reported feeling anxious about the process compared to one in ten men.
Uncommon Creative Studio has bundled up all these negatives to create a positive campaign for Habito, a print campaign called Mortgage Kama Sutra, in which home-ownership cues sexy antics.
There’s the Down-Payment Doggy and The Prime Rate Python, for example, each turning the worrisome financial language and terms with which buyers often struggle, into pleasurable ideas for sex.
Uncommon worked with Israel-born graphic designer, illustrator and artist, Noma Bar, to craft the campaign. Bar, with her trademark “deceptively simple” illustrations, is known for using flat colours, minimal detail and negative space to create images that often carry double meanings which are not immediately apparent. His work has appeared in Time Out London, BBC, Random House, The Observer, The Economist and Wallpaper.
Nils Leonard, co-founder, Uncommon, noted, “Habito is all about disrupting a tired and complacent category, we loved working with the excellent Noma Bar to safeguard the UK’s sex lives during the hell of mortgage hunting.
Abba Newbery, chief marketing officer of Habito, added, “Our adverts are always based on a truth – whether that be the inordinate cost, hours-spent or stress of getting a mortgage. This research shows that the mortgage industry still creates hellish levels of worry which has real impacts on how people live their lives. Getting a mortgage shouldn’t cause us to fall out with our partners. Habito fundamentally exists to make the process easier so home buyers can get on with enjoying themselves, wherever and however that might be! The Kama Sutra was a fun way to bring this issue to life via Noma’s wonderfully simple and smart designs.”
Bar added, “Working on a project that pushes the boundaries for its category is always enjoyable. I think it’s fresh to see a mortgage company that connects mortgage jargon with sexuality, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before. Normally, my images tell a story without words, but in this project we used text along with the images, to give the overall look a comic strip feel.”
The Mortgage Kama Sutra ran as a double-page spread in Time Out and Grazia, and Evening Standard’s ES magazine on November 22.
