SINGAPORE -- It looks like DBS' marketing budget is bigger than you thought.
The Singaporean multinational bank just put out a mini drama series on its website called "Sparks." It portrays the lives of fictional bank employees who (naturally) work for DBS. The bank claims that the plot of its high-production series was inspired by a true story.
Brands pull out glitzy campaigns all the time, but what's impressive about this project is that it managed to rope in several veteran Asian actors, such as Singaporean theater star Adrian Pang and Hong Kong comedian Richard Ng.
Watch episode 1:
For the three-episode series, DBS doesn't just rely on Singaporean actors in the lead. It also features several Western-raised Asian actors, such as Seattle-born Hong Kong model Jamie Ha, and James Yang, a singer and model born and raised in the UK.
A photo posted by JAMIE HA 夏意瑩 (@jamie.xia) on Jan 24, 2016 at 8:21pm PST
A photo posted by James Yang Yong Cong (@james.yangyongcong) on Dec 14, 2015 at 2:03am PST
But even good cinematography can't mask the cheese when one of the characters says during a particularly climatic point: "I want to bank with you."
DBS operates one of the biggest banking networks in the island state and has branches in other parts of Asia, including China, India, Southeast Asia, and the U.S. and U.K..