LLOYDS
BRINGING 1996 BACK FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS
The 90s are back.
This time, so is the £5,000 deposit.
THE CHALLENGE
In 1996, the average first-time buyer deposit in the UK was £5,000. It hasn't been since. With the deposit still one of the biggest barriers to getting on the property ladder, Lloyds' new £5k Deposit was a significant proposition. But in a crowded market, it needed to feel instantly relevant to everyday consumers. That meant reaching beyond traditional banking audiences and sparking a wider cultural conversation about owning a home.
THE APPROACH
Lloyds brought the £5,000 deposit back, so we brought 1996 back with it. Working as one Publicis Go team, we ensured earned activity was part of the initial brief rather than an add-on. The campaign drew on the music, fashion and attitude of the 90s, anchored by Urban Cookie Collective's 'The Key, The Secret'. An AI-powered TikTok filter let people put themselves back in 1996.
In Birmingham, a 90s house pop-up at New Street station became a live content studio, with creators shooting content which was approved and posted from the floor on the same day. Personalised 90s moving-in boxes also landed on influencers' doorsteps, complete with "what I wish I knew" cards to spark their personal house buying journeys, ensuring the idea carried on through native, creator-led content.
THE IMPACT
The campaign turned a mortgage product into a national conversation, and changed how Lloyds shows up in AI search. Within the first week, Lloyds climbed into the top three AI search results for first-time buyer mortgage prompts and became a dominant voice in those answers, giving the brand a stronger position in how a new generation researches its first home. Interest in Lloyds' first-time buyer mortgages surged, driving a sharp rise in visits to the £5k deposit page. Creator content beat engagement benchmarks, and on launch day the conversation reached Parliament, where a member of the House of Lords pointed to a bank's mortgage as an example of how to help a generation onto the housing ladder.
17
creators
54M
views
3rd
in AI search visibility for first-time buyer mortgage prompts, up from 6th
55%
share of voice, up from 5%