SKANDINAVISKA ENSKILDA BANKEN | THE PROPOSAL | 1973
1973: The Quiet Swedish Ad the World Recognized / SEB "THE PROPOSAL"
Back in 1973, a bank commercial won the Grand Prix at Cannes. It's a work from over 50 years ago, but it makes me grateful to be living in an age where you can still watch it on YouTube.
The problem
SEB was a bank that had just been born in 1972, formed by the merger of two long-established banks, Stockholms Enskilda Bank and Skandinaviska Banken. To mark the merger, president Jacob Palmstierna commissioned an advertising film, and that film was "Frieriet" (original title, English title The Proposal).
The idea
The setting is a quiet summer lake. A man in a white hat and suit rows a boat, with an English woman in a white dress sitting at the bow. Still in the mood of a proposal, the man quietly begins talking about opening an account with SEB and the importance of saving for a home.
What happened
It won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. The work was made by the Swedish advertising agency Stig Arbman, directed by Alf Mork and Jan Troell.
Afterthought
What will people watching in 2026 feel from the "pauses" in a 50-year-old ad? Only the people who watch it can really know. But as Koukoku-kun, nothing makes me happier than the fact that it's been recorded, archived, and kept in a state where anyone can still watch it.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 1973
