Pretty recently a campaign broke out in National Media for Union Bank of India. It was pretty visible at least to me. I saw the ad on TV, hoardings on my way & back every day! A fairly large PSU Bank has again embarked on a mission to remind the customers about the brand after I think 3 years.

The campaign features Aruna Vishy, Ajit Tendulkar & Manoj Singh. Celebrities. NOT.

India and Indian family system is much interconnected. We are more social that the average social animal of the west. Family values are based on strong bondage and interdependence is very high within the members of the family.

Unlike the west, it is almost impossible to live alone and manage your life with the kind of facilities that are (or are not) available and one tends to depend on their immediate family a lot more than most other countries. Kids are under the aegis of their parents even till 24-25, while the average ‘walking out’ age in the west is 18 (or less)?

Beautiful insight. Transalated into communication by Union Bank of India.

The campaign features some unlikely heroes in their own way. Vishwanathan Anand’s wife, Sachin Tendulkar’s brother, and Vijender Singh’s brother, who are publicly known to be the pillars of support for the well known gods of their respective sporting discipline.

However, they were not in public eye till date.

Reems of paper and documentation have been made about Ajit Tendulkar. Sachin never forgets to mention his brother every time there is an accolade that is showered on him. But never has he been considered a celebrity. Till one views this campaign, chances are that they wouldn’t have seen Manoj Singh (Vijender’s brother). While Aruna has been in public eye before, I don’t remember her endorsing any brand.

Brilliant idea. It seems to fit with the brand’s communication well too. As a bank they claim to share your dream. Moot point being that one’s dream is never one’s alone! At least in the Indian context. This I believe is a fantastic premise for a brand to take. Especially one in the financial services space and that too – a large PSU Bank. Brings in the consumer closer to the brand in more than one way.

Using celebrity spouses or family members seems to be picking up in India. I remember Viru’s mom, now Aruna, Ajit & Manoj and Indian Cricket’s first lady Sakshi Dhoni. Snooky but viable idea. Make celebrities out of celebrity family members and get them cheap (at least relatively). I also believe that Abhishek (Aishwarya’s husband) is endorsing a few brands right? (Ha! My sarcastic self has to peep up someplace!)

However, I believe that the execution has its own minor glitches. The TVC is way too breezy and doesn’t get to the point. In the pretext of making it very classy, the point about driving home the key message is almost lost because the TVC is not crisp. Clearly the story could’ve been told in a 30 or 20 seconder rather than a 40. It almost sounds like the creative vs client argument. Client wants the story told shorter and the creative wants that extra 10 seconds. Things haven’t changed much in the last 5 years at least on this front

In all, I believe it is a great insight in the Indian context, but a not so great execution.

Must admit however that the advertising from PSU entities lately have been creative & catchy. That however has to be a separate discussion by itself!

Incoming search terms:

• ajit tendulkar union bank
• union bank of india campaign
• ajit tendulkar union bank of india
• aruna vishy
• union bank hoarding viswanathan anand
• union bank of india facebook aruna anand

Related posts:

1. Tit for Tat Warning: Long post. Very close to my heart and hence…...
2. Beware – Your competitor is from your category. NOT! A few years back, while at B-School, I was introduced...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

To the right of the greatest person brand is your's truly

I happened to meet him at a corporate event conducted recently and I thought I should share it with everyone here!

Incoming search terms:

• sachin tendulkar
• sachin tendulkar full image
• sachin tendulkar recent photos

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

GOD a.k.a Sachin Ramesh tendulkar in his early days played with an unsponsored bat, but owing to his prowess, an organisation which had little connection to batting department till then, decided to take the quantum leap. MRF decided to take 6 inches of the super power equipment, by just affixing the logo on Sachin’s bat. Lara came along and then Steve Waugh too. So much so, that MRF now has a full fledged business on cricketing equipment apart from the pace foundation which they were already known for!!

This is an iconic image that refuses to go out of my eyes / mind. Probably owing to the fact that I have handled the brand during my early years in advertising during which I have bumped into these illustrious names a few times. Nostalgia is such a nasty experience sometimes. I have been associated with every century scored by Sachin Tendulkar from his 13th one-day century till his 26th one-day century. Every time the master blaster goes past the ton, there used to be a congratulatory ad that will be released the next day. Further gory details have been edited!

Alas! that association is no more. Sachin and MRF bats are not together anymore! Sachin has moved on to ADIDAS.

I read in a newspaper a couple of days back and I am trying to quote verbatim (may not be successful though!). “That is the success of this association. Because, when I close my eyes, I still see the MRF logo on his bat and not anything else”. While unlike the devil which has outlived its utility, MRF & Sachin could have been together for longer. Whatever the compulsions were, I think the old association will still live in people’s minds!

Related posts:

1. Unlikely Heroes Disclaimer: I have oft repeated that I don’t write about...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.