Howard Brown (Halifax Bank) facts for kids

Howard Brown (born around 1966) is a well-known British singer and sales ambassador. He became famous for appearing in TV adverts for Halifax Bank. In these adverts, he often sang and danced, making him a familiar face to many.

Who is Howard Brown?

Howard Brown was born in Sheldon, a part of Birmingham, England. His family comes from Barbados.

His Time at Halifax Bank

Howard Brown worked for the HBOS Group, which owned both Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank, from 1994 to 2011. In 2000, he became the main star of the HBOS Marketing Campaign. This meant he sang in many of the bank's TV commercials.

In 2022, Halifax Bank made a decision about how their employees would interact with customers. This decision caused some debate on social media. Howard Brown spoke out against it. He believed that businesses should not get involved in political matters. He said, "It's a service industry – you should leave politics to the politicians."

Howard's Music and TV Career

Acting in The Office

In 2003, Howard Brown appeared in the Christmas special of the TV show The Office. He played himself alongside Ricky Gervais and Paul "Bubble" Ferguson from Big Brother 2.

They took part in a "Blind Date" game at a nightclub. Howard and Bubble seemed to get along better with the female contestant than Ricky Gervais's character. During the show, the host shouted, "Who gives you extra?" and the audience replied, "Who Who Who?". This was a nod to a Halifax advert that used the song "Who Let the Dogs Out?".

Singing and Other Appearances

In 2004, the Bank of Scotland stopped using Howard in their adverts. This was because their customers did not like the style of the commercials.

In 2005, Howard released a cover song called "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by Barry White. This song was released to raise money for charity. It reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, which lists the most popular songs.

After April 2008, Howard no longer starred in the Halifax adverts. Instead, he worked in the bank's public relations team. He left the company completely in 2011.

In 2017, Howard made a brief return to TV adverts. He appeared in a commercial for Hotels.com. Later, in February 2020, he was a guest on the TV show First Dates. This episode was even shown and discussed on the TV show Gogglebox. In February 2021, Howard also appeared as a special guest on the TV show Hypothetical.