This film is part of Free

Man of No Account

Cartoon modernism meets modern banking in this innovative cinema ad for Barclays Bank

Advert 1961 1 mins

Overview

Banks are not often associated with modernist stylings, and the gobbledygook is normally left to the small print. But this cinema ad produced at the innovative Larkins Studio was an early sign of the dramatic social changes of the 1960s, which would see bowler hats replaced by paisley cravats before the decade was out.

This was the first UK cinema advert from the Larkins/Barclays partnership after overseas successes like “Put Una Money For There” (also on the BFI Player). It was designed by Enzo Apicella, an Italian cartoonist who is best known for revolutionising restaurant décor - including establishing the style of the first Pizza Express restaurants in Soho in the late 1960s.

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