Jina, Sibiu County, 30+ degrees. Zanul BT and Ghita Ciobanul — the shepherd well known from telecom ads, who’s made us smile so many times with his natural charm — are shooting Banca Transilvania’s latest video ad, right in the middle of nature, at Ghita’s “home”. To the left, a sheepfold; ahead, a flock of sheep, rolling hills and a storybook backdrop. Nearly 20 people — from director to choreographer — have been poring over every detail for hours to make sure everything is just right.

Let’s go behind the scenes of the video spot through which Banca Transilvania announces something unique in Romania for entrepreneurs: the NELIMITAT Package on the BT Network, which lowers business costs and lets you carry out unlimited transactions at BT. All this with no additional charges for online and debit-instrument transactions between SME clients, and for a modest subscription of RON 21/month.

How the idea for the ad came about and what telecom has to do with BT:

The idea was born in-house at the bank, during a Marketing & Communications meeting about the NELIMITAT Package and its benefits. Talking about unlimited, freedom of movement, network and coverage took our thoughts to our friends in telecom and, naturally, to Ghita the Shepherd. We saw a lot of ourselves in that space, because:

• We have unlimited too at BT: in our network, it means zero additional banking fees for online and debit-instrument transactions between SME clients.
• We offer freedom of movement at BT: our SME customers (and not only) can receive and make as many payments as they like at Banca Transilvania, with no extra charges.
• We have the widest coverage as well: BT has the broadest reach among SMEs in Romania, with almost 230,000 entrepreneur clients working with our bank. In other words, 3 out of 5 SMEs choose BT. Well, aren’t we the Bank of Enterprising People? :)
• And of course we have a network at BT: more than 500 branches and over 7,000 ZamBT.
• Others had Ghita the Shepherd, we have Zan.
• There’s just one difference, because that’s banking for you: it’s not about “unlimited minutes”, it’s about OPs :) — payment orders.

3 script options, all starring Zanul BT and Ghita the Shepherd

Once the idea took shape, BT briefed the advertising agencies and scripts were developed for the video ad. Next Advertising and Three came back with three TV spot options. We chose the one where Zanul BT and Ghita the Shepherd greet each other in a long, striking way — like two old friends meeting on the hills of Jina. Their greeting is inspired by hip-hop culture and was adapted by the team we worked with to make it as memorable and fun as possible; in other words, to bring a ZamBT.

12 hours of prep and shooting for a 30-second ad

The actual shoot on the hills around Jina took around five hours. On top of that came the rehearsals for our two characters — Zanul BT and Ghita the Shepherd — to get the greeting just right: about four hours of “training” the day before, and more on shoot day. Detail by detail, frame by frame.

The challenges: 30+ degrees and Jina’s tasty fare

For the nearly 20 people involved in the Jina shoot, the main challenge was the heat and spending almost an entire day on the hillside, in direct sun. Our partners at production company Greenmind Studio and the Next Advertising and Three agencies told us there was another hurdle :) “We think the real challenge was not to explode, because shooting in Jina we were served only local fare: rich cheese and meat preserved in lard.”

Ghita the Shepherd, an up-to-date bio

Ghita the Shepherd, whose real name is also Ghita (Gheorghe Danuletiu), is now 32. He lives in Jina, a village in Sibiu made famous by him. He’s married and has three children — a girl and two boys — aged between 4 and just over 1; a house and a car; and more than 2,000 sheep. In his words, every day he “leaves home when he wants, comes back when he can,” given that he “manages the sheep and handles transhumance,” which means moving the flock to different places depending on the season.

Always joking and almost always rosy-cheeked — whether from nerves, the sun or the great local cheese, we can’t say; probably all three :) — here’s what he told us after filming the BT ad: “I’m happy I had the chance to meet Zan and shoot together. It wasn’t too hard because we got along very well and I’m used to filming. As you can see in the BT ad, the greeting between me and him involves several moves we both had to learn for hours, because around here in the village we hadn’t seen anything like it. Thank you to the team who came to Jina, for the shoot and for me.”

Zanul BT has been part of Banca Transilvania’s unconventional communications for 11 years. Read his story here: “When he’s not holding the baton, he’s an entrepreneur and a BT client.”

BT thanks the team who made the video spot possible: Zanul BT; Ghita the Shepherd; our hosts in Jina; Sorin Popescu (Managing Partner, Next Advertising); Andrei Tripsa (Creative Director, Three); Sabin Staicu (Copywriter, Three); Radu Sorescu (Account Manager, Three) and Francisc Zinz (Art Director, Three); Monica Jitariuc (Managing Director, MSLGROUP The Practice); production company Greenmind Studio — Radu Barbulescu (Director), Stefan Anger (Producer), Ioana Macarie (Choreographer), Manole Sava (Photographer), Alex Negulescu (Assistant Photographer), Nela Frunza (Costumes) and Dora Codita (Make-up).

With the production of the video ad for the NELIMITAT Package on the BT Network, part of the communication campaign of the same name, Banca Transilvania brought together a surprising duo: Zanul and Ghita the Shepherd. The first wields a baton and is all about banking; the second is in love with nature. Both of them, NELIMITAT-level charming.

Editor: Laura Petrehus, Deputy Director, Communications & PR, Banca Transilvania