Although Member One Federal Credit Union has grown to a healthy size, it is still first and foremost a part of its Virginia community. To help keep video messaging centered on this truth, Ethic has developed the Member One community, an animated town where everyday neighbors’ lives are improved by cooperation with one another—and by the products and services offered by Member One.

Our early community TV spots kept the camera at a distance, as in the community’s debut, below. Over time, we’ve pushed closer to the lives of our characters, making them more expressive and allowing them to bring the community itself to life as it continues to provide the thread that connects them.

Here, we’ve reimagined our first home buyers from a new perspective, illustrating how they might look in today’s updated community aesthetic.

Member One itself is often seen in the Member One community, of course. That sleek modern architecture is a great background for many scenes, like this Checking ad.

The consistent use of the flat animation style and the neighborhood itself have contributed to increased brand recognition within the credit union’s local market. This also provides a convenient animation framework that allows us to create explainers and other videos in short order as needed.

When Ascentra Credit Union’s animated mascot Fran needed a break from the endless demands of parenthood and home ownership, Ascentra’s HELOC (home equity line of credit) came to her rescue with a new pool. “Fran is dreaming of lazy days with her favorite floaty, because sHELOC’d it and dropped it on a swimming pool!”

Part of a small series of TV spots featuring a variety of purchases, this thirty-second HELOC commercial was written and created for broadcast, but is versatile enough to be used again online as OTT content.

The sHELOC ad campaign extended beyond video, ultimately showing off Fran’s new pool across print advertising, digital/online banner ads, social media posts, and out-of-home placements like billboards and in-branch plasma screens.

But where did “sHELOC” come from? HELOC products are common across financial institutions, which makes differentiation a challenge in a crowded market. Playing with the phonetic pronunciation of the acronym—he-lock—and attaching it to the idea of “locking in” a lending agreement brought a memorable playfulness to an otherwise dry concept. And of course, once we personalized it for Fran, this naturally became the she-lock that she’d use for her pool, her “she shed” and anything else her animated heart desired.