In a new spot promoting its online platform SmartWealth, UBS manages to bring charm and emotion to the world of banking by telling a man's lifestory through numbers.

The ad, created by Publicis London and beautifully directed by Rattling Stick's Sara Dunlop, starts with the man's birth and the numbers written on the baby tag round his arm. It continues with vignettes telling the story of his childhood and then adulthood, via numerical motifs such as three birthday candles on a cake, his Space Invaders score, math exams, first salary, the price of his engagement ring and the number plate of his first car. There's a health scare later on, but the spot ends on an uplifting note (with a brief scene of him using the online platform to plan his daughter's wedding budget).

Styled to evoke original video footage from all the different decades portrayed, the film is wonderfully nostalgic and will appeal to anyone of a certain age looking back at their 20th century childhood and remembering stuff like cassette mixtapes. The 90-second spot and a 60-second cutdown are running on U.K. TV.

Dave Monk, executive creative director, Publicis London said in a statement: "We all think banking is about hard numbers, but the truth is, behind every personal investment decision is just a human being making plans for their future. This campaign plays on the idea that even a cold hard digit can have a personal meaning; from the time of your child's birth, the door number of the family home, or the number plate of your first car."