A change that gave billions to millions

Declining interest

With 2 years to go until the final claims deadline, the PPI complaints market had not only declined in terms of interest, it had become infected by Claims Management Companies and their ’something for nothing’ promises. With over 36m legitimate claims yet to be lodged, the FCA needed to re-motivate consumers and bring the process to ‘and orderly end’.

Make a decision. Do it now

The FCA wanted people to complain, if that was their decision. Equally, they were content that people didn’t complain, so long as that was a decision actively made. We defined our task as follows, “when the deadline has been and gone, no one is left feeling like they didn’t make a decision about PPI one way or another”.

Talking heads

Enter Arnold Schwarzenegger’s severed, remote-control head on wheels. Naturally. Over four campaigns across two years, he demanded people’s attention and encouraged them to ‘Make a decision. Do it now!’ Capturing not just the attention of consumers, his animatronic head became the lens through which the media reported on PPI as the banks doubled, and tripled budgets to meet the unprecedented volume of claims received ahead of the final deadline.

Deadline day

As the campaign drew to an end in the final weeks, Arnie got slowly crushed in a giant press. The closer the deadline, the more Arnie was crushed. In five TVCs over 10 weeks (June-August 2019) we saw Arnie get steadily pressed into a can.

Earned Media

From the advertising launch, through to the deadline closing, 15% of the 1,100 articles about PPI referenced or featured Arnie.

Return on Investment

The campaign returned between £1.6bn and £4.6bn to the public, based on a total investment of £42m.

Reversed the decline

The FCA successfully reversed the decline in PPI complaints and ensured consumers received redress if they had been mis-sold.