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Sometime in October 2007, Ogilvy & Mather India won itself the account of Canara Bank, yet another government owned bank brand expecting an image makeover from the agency.
To put things in perspective, in late 2005, O&M had created a campaign for State Bank of India called ‘Surprisingly SBI’. The high-voltage campaign revolved around the thought that the SBI (perceived to be a fuddy-duddy, old-fashioned brand) had a plethora of technologically advanced services and offerings that no one knew about. In other words, the misconception had to be changed, and O&M did so by ‘surprising’ the public with its advertising.
Then, in 2007, O&M started work on Bank of India, which also faced an image problem. But while SBI’s advertising revolved around its modern services, Bank of India chose another strength to talk of – the trust and tradition quotient that its loyalists enjoy with the bank, and how that tradition gets passed on through the generations. The core idea – ‘Rishton ki Jamapoonji’ – was rather well accepted.
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A shot from the TVC |
Canara Bank, earlier with RK Swamy/BBDO, has empanelled O&M specifically for its image change, though some other projects may follow later. The new logo for Canara Bank, designed by the WPP owned Ray & Keshavan, comprises two entwined triangles in blue (for stability, scale and depth), and bright yellow (for optimism, warmth and energy).
The rebranding campaign uses the idea that sometimes, it’s easier to change for the people you care about. Two television commercials (TVCs) have been released on this thought. One showcases a South Indian woman who, quite oddly, is learning Punjabi. Then she goes to receive her son and his wife at the airport, and greets her Punjabi daughter-in-law in Punjabi. The film ends on the thought that Canara Bank, too, has changed for its customers (‘Hum Badle Aapke Liye’), while the tagline goes, ‘Together We Can’.
Another film has a woman desperately learning and using cricket lingo in order to join her husband while he watches a cricket match. She ends up fumbling her words, but he is touched by her effort.
The press and outdoor campaign has creatives such as a man trying to cook for his wife, a woman learning to play golf for her husband, a father learning to play football for his son, and another father learning to use the iPod to please his daughter.
According to Malvika Mehra, group creative director, O&M Bangalore, the task before Canara and O&M was doubly tough as a majority of government banks have already cashed in on the rebranding trend. The Canara Bank campaign has been created by Anil Thomas, Shekar Hebbale, Rexina Devraj, PG Sainath and Sraman Majumdar, along with Mehra and Amit Akali.
Incidentally, Mehra had worked on SBI as well. According to her, O&M’s work on SBI and Bank of India is proof that a public sector bank can shed its worn-out image and be relevant to the youth, while still retaining its old consumer base. “It’s all about linking the old with the new,” adds Amit Akali, group creative director, O&M Bangalore.
© 2010 afaqs!From lbhat, Tue 08 Jan 2008 08:10:08 AM If Canara Bank thinks that an ad campaign is the solution to their service problems, they are mistaken.
From Ravi Parthasarathy, Mon 07 Jan 2008 10:18:34 AM Have seen the logo and also the `creative' story for the colors, used in the logo.
All I can say that it is a rip-off, with no justification or substantiation for the percieved change of image of the bank.
