Banco Do Brasil Bets on Emotion to Stand Out in One of the Country’s Most Competitive Sectors

Banco do Brasil’s “Collect Moments” campaign could have easily followed the traditional script of bank advertising: highlight the convenience of the credit card, showcase the benefits, and place the product in action within a modern consumer scenario. But it didn’t. Instead, the bank chose to tell a delicate (almost poetic) story about the relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter, using imagination as a bridge between generations.

The commercial, created by Nacional Comunicação, shows a little girl preparing an imaginary café for her grandfather. A hand-drawn menu, invisible cookies, pretend coffee – and, in the end, a symbolic detail that ties it all together: the girl proudly lifts a cardboard credit card machine so her grandfather can “pay” with his phone. Simple, beautiful, and effective.

It’s a smart tonal shift. Instead of technology for convenience, it’s technology for affection. Instead of utility, it’s connection. In a sector that often leans toward the functional, Banco do Brasil bets on emotion – and it’s paying off.

According to our study using the Test Your Ad platform, 75% of viewers reported feeling happiness after watching the commercial. The result? A score of 5.1 stars for long-term effectiveness and brand building, placing the ad among the top 3% most effective on Brazilian TV. The leading spontaneous association was “family” – a powerful value for a bank with national reach and strong institutional presence. “Ease” and “convenience” also ranked in the top 8, showing that audiences clearly captured the functional benefits as well.

This is a strategically relevant move. The financial sector is the second-largest media spender in Brazil, investing over R$2 billion a year, according to Cenp-Meios. And when it comes to cards, the penetration is massive: more than 208 million active cards (credit + debit + prepaid), according to Brazil’s Central Bank in 2022. In other words, presence isn’t lacking – differentiation is.

The “payment” reveal only comes in the final seconds, which may limit immediate brand recognition. But it’s a calculated risk: the emotional payoff outweighs this limitation, and there’s room to reinforce branding through media planning and the campaign’s broader rollout.

In a category often anchored in attributes like security, speed, or credit limits, this campaign delivers something far more valuable: meaning. And in doing so, it elevates the brand’s narrative and reinforces its relevance in an increasingly commoditized market.

“The campaign translates our purpose of being by people’s side during the experiences that truly matter,” says Paula Sayão, Head of Marketing at Banco do Brasil. Creative Executive Director Tiago Frechiani of Nacional summarizes the tone of the piece: “A sweet and truly Brazilian film, where beauty lies in the small moments of everyday life.”

For Utymo Oliveira, Planning Director at Nacional, “the foundation of research and the rich theory developed by System1 and by author, professor, and System1 expert Orlando Wood were key to the project’s success. That’s what Creative Effectiveness is all about – emotional creativity in the service of business results.”