HBOS Marketing Campaign HBOS Marketing Campaign In late 2000, UK bank Halifax began a long-running television advertisement campaign featuring staff singing popular songs with the words changed to reflect its financial services products. The campaign was the brainchild of DLKW Creative Directors Malcolm Green and Gary Betts, who had previously found fame when they launched the Gary Lineker Walkers Crisps campaign. Auditions were held and Halifax employee Howard Brown was selected by Green and Betts to spearhead the new advertising drive for the bank in 2000. Brown was the first and most frequently featured star of these adverts. His first advert saw him
Maff Brown with Brown hosting and the bill including Dara Ó Briain, Russell Howard and was headlined by Al Murray. 2008 was a total sell out with The Independent heralding the evening as "A triumph!". August 2007 saw a successful Edinburgh festival stint for Brown when playing the white half in a show called The Honky and the Wog. Sharing the bill as the black counterpart, was Paramount Comedy Channel's Nathan Caton. The both performed half an hour and received positive reviews as a result. 2008's Festival was spent in the Pleasance Cellar as part of the award-winning stand up show AAA.