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A new TV commercial by Kalyan Jewellers highlighting its “trustworthiness” by Bollywood’s leading superstar and his daughter has got bank employees up in arms for showing them in a “derogatory” manner, and has now made the company tender an unconditional apology and promise to add a disclaimer.
The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), the largest association of bank officers, has objected to the Hindi version of the new TV advertisement by Kalyan Jewellers starring its brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda.
“We express our strong resentment against the management of Kalyan Jewellers and Amitabh Bachchan who have manifested a negative and false image of banks in the advertisement for their personal aggrandisement,” said the 3.2 lakh member strong AIBOC.
Seeking an unconditional apology from Kalyan Jewellers and withdrawal of the advertisement, the union had warned that it would otherwise take action, including dharnas and litigation.
“Due to various reasons, banks have already got a bad name. The advertisement has further hurt the sentiments. Customer service is our first priority,” said Soumya Datta, General Secretary, AIBOC, adding that public sector banks have been working for nation-building through schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra loans and Aadhaar enrolment.
The union has also complained to the Advertising Standards Council of India.
In a communication to the bank union, Kalyan Jewellers has now promised that a disclaimer will be added within three working days before the advertisement stating: “Characters and situations depicted are fictional. The brand does not intend to disrespect or malign any person or community.”
But the union is not happy with the disclaimer. “A letter has been issued by Kalyan Jewellers. But unless they stop airing the ad, it is not acceptable to us,” Datta told BusinessLine .
The one-and-a-half minute TVC was done by one of the jeweller’s creative agencies, L&K Satchi. It shows Amitabh Bachchan as a pensioner, who is accompanied to the bank branch by his daughter, Nanda. After being sent from counter to counter by ineffective bank staff, the duo are referred to the bank manager.
They inform him that Bachchan’s pension has wrongly been credited twice in a month and the manager says that he should party. However, an offended Bachchan and his daughter say that this is against his principles of trustworthiness, making the manager realise his folly.
Incidentally, the advertisement had seen good response on social media with many commenting that the product placement was subtle yet effective.
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