Banco de Chile: Project 4270
Banco de Chile tasked BBDO Chile with strengthening its position as the country's most iconic financial institution. During a period of social fragmentation, the bank needed to move beyond functional services to foster national unity and pride. The objective was to create a landmark institutional campaign that celebrated Chile's natural heritage, reinforcing the bank's deep-rooted connection to the land and its people.
Creative Idea
Transformed the entire length of Chile into abstract art through a record-breaking continuous drone flight.
Banco de Chile captured the country's entire 4,270km length via a continuous drone flight, transforming natural topography into abstract art to reinforce its identity as the 'Bank of Chile' and turn the nation's geography into a shared cultural asset.
Mapping 4270 Kilometers of National Identity
A ninety day aerial odyssey
The production team at Alaska Films spent three months traversing the extreme latitudes of Chile, from the arid Atacama Desert to the frozen Antarctic territory. To capture the "surreal" textures of the landscape, specialized drone cinematographers operated at altitudes of 500 meters, focusing on top-down perspectives that many viewers initially mistook for abstract paintings or CGI. The journey covered remote locations including Rapa Nui, the Juan Fernández Archipelago, and the Patagonian glaciers, resulting in what was described as the longest continuous drone flight ever documented for a commercial project.
From pins to global pavilions
The project began with a simple map of Chile and a box of pins, with no initial plan for a "making of" film. This organic approach eventually scaled into a massive cultural asset. Beyond the broadcast on Mega and Canal 13, the bank transformed the campaign into a public gift by releasing a digital portal containing over 500 high-resolution, royalty-free images for educational and cultural use. This "open source" heritage strategy reached an international stage at the Chile Pavilion during Expo Osaka 2025, where it was projected to be seen by over 30 million visitors.
The bank with the country's name
María Beatriz Parodi, Manager of Corporate Image, noted that having "Chile" in the brand name created a unique obligation to search for things that unite the nation. This sentiment was echoed by General Manager Eduardo Ebensperger, who viewed the work as a permanent historical record rather than a traditional advertisement. The campaign’s success was reflected in its digital engagement, with a single primary video surpassing 847,000 views on YouTube within months of its debut.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A dominant national bank with 'Chile' in its name and a mandate to represent the country's identity.
Category
Financial services often rely on generic corporate messaging or functional benefits that fail to inspire deep emotional connection.
Customer
Chileans seeking a sense of unity and national pride amidst social division and a desire to celebrate their heritage.
Culture
The country's extreme geography and diverse landscapes are a unique source of collective awe and shared national identity.
Company
A dominant national bank with 'Chile' in its name and a mandate to represent the country's identity.
Category
Financial services often rely on generic corporate messaging or functional benefits that fail to inspire deep emotional connection.
Strategy:
Leverage literal territorial scale to transform physical geography into a proprietary and emotive brand asset.
Customer
Chileans seeking a sense of unity and national pride amidst social division and a desire to celebrate their heritage.
Culture
The country's extreme geography and diverse landscapes are a unique source of collective awe and shared national identity.
Strategy:
Leverage literal territorial scale to transform physical geography into a proprietary and emotive brand asset.
Results
The campaign successfully carried out the longest drone flight ever recorded, spanning 4,270 KMS. Over a period of 90 days, the project obtained 1,200 never-before-seen artworks representing the country. These images were utilized across multiple platforms including billboards, magazines, postcards, and digital wallpapers. The images were also exhibited at major international venues, specifically mentioned is the Osaka Kansai 2025 tourism exhibition, reaching a global audience and reinforcing Chile's brand identity.
4,270 KMS
longest drone flight ever recorded
1,200
unique artworks created
90 days
duration of the expedition
Strategy Technique
Find the Brand Truth
The bank leveraged its name - Banco de Chile - to claim ownership of the national identity, proving its commitment to the country by documenting its entire physical territory as a gift to the people.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Use Art
By filming landscapes from a top-down perspective at a specific altitude, the campaign transformed literal geography into surrealist abstract art, elevating a standard tourism-style shoot into a high-end gallery experience.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign's excellence lies in its fusion of extreme technical endurance with a sophisticated artistic vision, turning geographical data into high-end photography.
The use of consistent 500m altitude nadir shots transforms the Chilean landscape into a series of stunning abstract paintings.
Executing a record-breaking 4,270km continuous drone flight requires immense logistical and technical coordination.
The curation of 1,200 images into a cohesive artistic 'gallery' across multiple media formats is masterfully handled.
The framing and timing of the aerial captures elevate the footage from simple surveillance to fine art.
The synergy between the record-breaking drone technology and the artistic eye for abstract composition is what makes the project unique.
