"The Challenger (DC)"

11 September 2023

1 min 40s

The gloves are on.

It's easy to root for the father and daughter in this Erste Bank commercial, in large part due to director Chris Fowles. Yes, it's another training montage with shades of every boxing film ever made, but Fowles boxes clever from start to finish.

Scored by The Who and 'Baba O'Reily', the ad depicts the early stages of a new routine so well. An early start is torture for any child, but exercise on top of that? Perhaps this is one for social services.

There's also an older girl who tries to intimidate the newcomer. It almost works, but the protagonist just gets harder, better, faster, and stronger with each session (we like the janitor who apologies for switching the gym lights off). Soon dad's the one too tired to go on.

All of this culminates in a bout that we never actually see, followed by a telltale trudge past empty seats. Father and daughter share a lovely moment as they leave the gym together, confident that she's on the right track. "Believe in yourself, no matter what," say the bank, which is—ironically—priceless advice.

Croatia

Banks