Which advertising icon made a comeback on a Norfolk beach?

Horses on Wells-next-the-sea beach for the advertising film by Lloyds bank. Picture: submitted (Image: Archant)

But this is actually the setting for a major corporate advert, as UK bank Lloyds hopes to whip up a frenzy with the foal-to-nag story of its iconic black horse.

By unleashing the reins on the team that produced John Lewis' heart-tugging Monty the penguin advert at Christmas, the bank has seen Holkham beach in Norfolk star as a backdrop to its campaign.

'Horse Story' by communications company Adam and Eve DDB, which is based in London, opens with a foal in a stable, to a horse ploughing a field in 18th century England, to horses pulling the last horse-drawn RNLI lifeboat out of the sea on the beach near Wells-next-the-sea.

Ending with the words 'By your side for 250 years', the advert aims to impress the values of the bank on the viewer through a horse's story that will get the heartstrings throbbing, just as the nation did over Monty's at Christmas.

Lloyds bank's new advert includes the black horse being ridden by British Para show jumper, Susi Rogers Hartley. Picture: submitted (Image: Archant)

It also stars British Para show jumper, Susi Rogers Hartley, galloping through a forest and caring for the horse at the end of a more modern kind of long working day.

Catherine Kehoe, managing director of brands and marketing at Lloyds Bank, said: 'Our iconic symbol, the black horse, is the vehicle used to show quiet determination and trust, by your side through good times and bad.'

Horses would have drawn lifeboats with huge force on a trolley through the waves at beaches all over the UK up until about 1920 when motor lifeboats became more widespread and horses were no longer used.

Has your business used Norfolk as a backdrop to its advertising? Contact business writer Jess Staufenberg on 01603772531 or email jessica.staufenberg@archant.co.uk