The film tells the story of one man’s life through the numbers that are important to him – from his birth through to the present day. It aims to show that when it comes to investing, numbers aren’t cold, hard figures but represent the dreams and goals we all have. As the campaign line suggests, ‘Behind every number, there’s a story.’

The ad follows one man’s life with a timeline that runs from the late 1950s to the present day. Four different actors played the lead at various stages of his life, with make-up and prosthetics helping age each actor when required. Rigorous attention to detail was required to ensure that casting, wardrobe and art department were authentic to the different periods on show.

Rather than create the look of different eras in post production, camera formats from the time were used for authenticity. This included wind-up Bolex, Super 8 and 16mm through to the Hi-8 of the 1990s. Footage from the Alexa was run through a VHS player to give an authentic 1980s feel.