I was really surprised when earlier this week Kalyan Jewellers pulled its latest TVC off-air. The ad itself had had a lot of pre-release hype because Amitabh Bachchan, a long-running endorser of the brand, was to feature in the new commercial with his daughter Shweta Bachchan-Nanda for the first time. It was in fact to be Nanda’s debut exposure before the camera. So, a lot of eyes were riveted on to what Kalyan Jewellers would present.
The ad itself turned out to be pretty mediocre. In the film, the father-daughter duo are shown coming to a bank in an autorickshaw. Presumably, it is some kind of a government or cooperative bank. Amitabh wants something to be done about his monthly pension. Bank officials show little interest in the old man’s problem and he gets tossed around, that too, a little rudely, from one counter to another. He finally gets to meet the branch manager who peruses the passbook and informs the pensioner that his monthly credit is already there. Which is when Shweta steps in and tells the manager that the problem is that the pension has been credited twice into the account. The manager tells Mr Bachchan to ‘party’ and enjoy the extra cash as no one would ever find out, but the righteous old man wants to rightfully return what is not his. Because, “galat to galat hai” and “jahan asool hai wahan bharosa hai”. The commercial ends with the super, “bharosa hi sab kuchh hai”.
The same commercial has been made in various languages. The Malayalee version features actress Manju Warrier as Amitabh’s daughter. The Tamil version actually has Southern star Nagarjuna essaying the role played by Bachchan in other languages.
Trouble started when the All India Bank Officers’ Association protested the negative portrayal of bank employees in the Kalyan ad. To me, there is nothing objectionable in the ad. Rude behaviour is part of our daily culture and nothing showed in the ad is either an exaggeration or particularly insulting to banking professionals. But the bank officers obviously have a more exalted self-view of themselves and their service levels. Surprisingly, Kalyan Jewellers beat a retreat and decided to pull the ‘objectionable’ ad off-air.
Frankly, I am a bit perplexed by Kalyan’s meek submission to the protesting bankers. My point is, some lobby or interest group finds your ad not in line with their thinking is no reason to trash the communication. It only goes to show that the brand really had no trust in whatever it was putting out. In which case, why did you make the ad in the first place? As it is, Mr Bachchan normally plays himself in the Kalyan ads. In the past, he has partnered his glamorous daughter-in-law Aishwarya in Kalyan ads. Now, to be playing the role of a pensioner in a mofussil town drawing 5,500 monthly pension is in itself a leap of faith for the viewer. The rest of the story line too is old and hackneyed. So, what really got the bankers worked up or agitated is beyond my comprehension.
I would not be surprised if the protest itself is orchestrated. It could well be part of a well-thought out PR-plan. First you hype the ad. Then the hype turns out to be tepid. Then you create a controversy. Hype the controversy. Yank off the ad. Try to look goody-goody good. Period.
In any case, Bachchan and daughter are completely wasted in the ad. Shweta Bachchan-Nanda could have looked for a better debut. And father Bachchan, especially at his age, should be looking to do better roles. Read, more believable roles. You cannot be playing the suave, well-heeled superstar one moment, and an impoverished pensioner the next moment. Audiences too require time to adjust, after all. Jab bharosa hi nahin, to kuchh nahin. In the Kalyan ad, the very trust it espouses is actually missing.
(Sandeep Goyal is an advertising veteran. He has worked at leading ad agencies like JWT, Grey, DDB, Rediffusion and Dentsu for over 30 years.)