MLC Australia has launched The Heist, a campaign created by Princess and directed by Mark Molloy, centered on the idea that Australians should not have to “pull off the impossible” to retire happy.
The cinematic comedy follows a group of everyday Australians as they devise an elaborate plan involving guards, disabled cameras, a code hidden in a dog’s collar and a safe full of gold.
The campaign aims to shift the conversation around superannuation from the amount Australians accumulate to how they use and invest their money throughout retirement, according to the release.
“Super funds have spent decades talking to Australians about the number they might end up with. We want to start a more meaningful conversation about the life that number needs to support,” said Renee Howie, Chief Customer Officer, MLC.
“A great retirement doesn’t begin on the day you stop working. It is shaped over a lifetime. Our role at MLC is to help Australians connect what they are doing today with the retirement they want and to give them the plan, partnership and confidence to get there. And that’s what The Heist is really about: showing there’s a much better way to a glorious retirement.”
The campaign is Princess’ biggest production to date and marks the agency’s first anniversary this year, according to the release.
It is also Molloy’s first major work since Adidas Backyard Legends. The original score was composed by Elliott Wheeler, while FIN Design handled visual effects. Sound design and mix were provided by 750mph, which collaborated with Sonar Music.
The Princess Founders said, “You know you’re onto something when you’re tripping over yourself in excitement to tell the client. MLC only ever want to see big, brave ideas and they embraced the work from the get go. In our minds, there was only one person who could get on board and make our idea a reality and that was Mark Molloy. He believed in the idea from the moment we first shared it with him, and things only got better from there…”
“I’ve worked with the creatives from Princess before, so I knew what kind of ambition I was signing up for,” said Mark Molloy.
“The Heist let us make something fun and cinematic out of a category that rarely gets to be – plus I’ve always wanted to make a classic caper film.”
The hero film is part of a 360 campaign comprising more than 171 AV assets, which are set to run across MLC’s marketing funnel over 24 months.
“Everyone at MLC is deeply proud of this work,” said Wylie Fowler, GM of Brand and Content, MLC.
“It brings our promise to help Australians retire happy to life in a way that is bold, entertaining and unmistakably MLC. Creating a campaign of this scale took enormous care and collaboration across everyone in our combined teams and, of course, a really good plan. Huge thanks to all the world-class and wildly talented people who played their role in bringing it to life.”
“It takes a lot of trust, partnership and courage to make this kind of work. We could never have done it without the team at MLC, Exit, Mark, The Editors, Fin, Sonar, and Elliot, our composer, 750mph, Louis & Co and Cream,” the Princess Founders added.
Credits
Client: MLC Australia
Chief Customer Officer: Renee Howie
GM of Brand and Content: Wylie Fowler
Senior Manager Brand, Advertising and Media: Dennis Poropat
Head of Client and Brand Insights: Tracy Lane
Head of Customer Marketing, MasterTrust: Ana Weaver
Senior Manager Creative Operations: Angela Lemon
Senior Media Activation Manager: Justyna Zawadzka
Senior Content Manager: Caitlin Shennan
Brand Performance Manager: Megan McAuliffe
Agency: Princess A Creative Company
Founders: Beth O’Brien, Cameron Bell, Sam Dickson, Jonny Berger
Chief Strategy Officer: Lilian Sor
Executive Producer: Renata Barbosa
Client Lead: Cece Chieng
Operations Lead: Mez Truong
Design Director: Josh Hart
Head of Studio: Grant Graham
Media: Kaimera
Chief Client Officer: Anna Magliano
Chief Strategy Officer: Max Broer
Client Director: Rachel Evans
Client Manager: Caitlin Walsh
Production Company: EXIT
Director Mark Molloy
Managing Director: Declan Cahill
Managing Partner: Wilf Sweetland
Executive Producer: Leah Churchill-Brown
Producer: Alex Taussig
LP/HOP: Jacquie Riley
Production Manager: Elaine Roy
Production Co-ordinator: Millie Lombardo
Casting: Natalie Harvie
DOP: Sam Chiplin
1st AD: Jeremy Fitzgerald
Production Designer: Steven Jones Evans
Costume Designer: Joanna Mae Park
Key Hair & Make-Up: Yvonne Savage
Stunts: Harry Dakanalis
Post House: The Editors
Editor: Alexandre de Franceschi
Editor: Jack Hutchings
Editor Assistant: Rosie Byrne
Post Producer: Nicoletta Rousianos
VFX: FIN Design & Effects
VFX Supervisor: Mikey Brown
Flame Artist: Jacob Street
Executive Producer: Emily Newbould
Colourist: Fergus Rotherham
Photographer: Ian Butterworth
Production Company: Louis & Co
Producer: Luke Della Santa
Post-Production/Retouching: Cream
Executive Music Director: Elliott Wheeler
Executive Music Producer: Emma Hoy
Composition and Arrangement: Scott Langley
Score Mixer: Evan McHugh
Sound Design and Mix: 750mph
Sound Designer: Sam Ashwell & Jake Ashwell
Executive Producer: Olivia Ray
Head of Production: Rachel Saxon
Sound Post-Production: Sonar Music
