ING Deutschland Hires Saint Elmo's and RCKT to Turn Pension Saving Into Comedy
Updated: 6 days ago
TL;DR: ING Deutschland has added Saint Elmo's and RCKT to its agency roster for a comedy-led retirement-savings platform fronted by comedian Aurel Mertz, in a multi-specialist rather than single-lead model.
Comedy Meets Pension Planning
ING Deutschland has brought in Saint Elmo's to build a new campaign platform for its pension and retirement communications, with RCKT executing activation through a comedy format, as reported on 17 September 2026. Saint Elmo's won its part in a competitive pitch earlier in the year.
Comedian Aurel Mertz fronts the work, dispensing financial wisdom from a Swabian perspective, launched with a live event in Berlin.
A Multi-Specialist Model
An ING spokesperson was explicit that this 'is not about awarding a lead account' — instead the brief expands specialist creative competencies across multiple partners. It is a deliberate move away from the traditional single-lead agency model.
That structure lets ING pull the right specialist for each job rather than routing everything through one shop — flexible, but demanding tighter client-side orchestration.
Why Humour, Why Now
The campaign lands amid intense German debate over private pension provision and the new state pension depot. Humour is a way to make an anxiety-laden, easily-avoided topic approachable for younger savers who tune out earnest finance messaging.
Financial brands increasingly lean on entertainment to earn attention in a category most people would rather not think about.
Marketing Minute's Take
Humour in finance is high-reward and high-risk: it earns attention but can trivialise a serious decision if the joke outshines the message. The multi-specialist roster is the more quietly important move — it gives ING flexibility, but only works if someone client-side owns the through-line. Fragmented agencies need a strong conductor.
Quick FAQ
What is ING Deutschland's new campaign?
A comedy-led pension and retirement-savings platform built by Saint Elmo's with activation by RCKT, fronted by comedian Aurel Mertz and launched with a live event in Berlin.
Is this a lead-agency appointment?
No — ING stated it is not awarding a lead account but expanding specialist creative competencies across multiple partners, a multi-specialist model.
Why use comedy for pensions?
Humour makes an anxiety-laden, easily-avoided topic approachable for younger savers, amid Germany's debate over private pension provision and the new state pension depot.
Humour in finance is high-reward and high-risk — it earns attention, but if the joke outshines the message you've entertained people out of a serious decision. The quieter story is the multi-specialist roster: flexible and modern, but it only works if someone client-side owns the through-line. Fragmented agencies need a strong conductor. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: humour can make finance approachable, but a multi-specialist agency model only works if the client owns the creative through-line.
If you split work across specialist agencies, who client-side actually owns the through-line?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Campaign Germany, HORIZONT.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
