The Common Man of TOI takes on conmen for NPCI

Clad in a dhoti and plaid jacket, The Common Man, a creation of RK Laxman, has long served as a silent witness to all that affect the country’s aam aadmi—his quiet observation often making the biggest noise amongst leaders and decision-makers. 

Despite his age, The Common Man’s responsibility of being a silent observer for the masses endures, and he is now keeping an eye out for all kinds of digital scams afflicting the country.

“India lost approximately Rs 11,333 crore to cyber fraud in the first nine months of 2024,” said a November Indian Express report citing data compiled by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. Stock trading scams accounted for the largest share, followed by investment-based scams, with digital arrests coming third.

The Common Man is part of an ongoing campaign by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)—a PSU that manages retail payments and settlement systems—to caution people against this rising tide of digital financial scams.

He appears in comic strips that are published pan-India in Hindi, English, Kannada, and Marathi across five publications: The Times of India, The Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, and Vijay Karnataka.

The strips depict scenes where a scamster attempts to outwit The Common Man himself, with the copy below the strip warning readers to stay vigilant against such scams.

“NPCI provides us with the most up-to-date information, and we turn it into use case scenarios,” says Aalap Desai, founder and chief creative officer at tgthr, a young independent creative agency creating the comic strips published in the five newspapers.

But does talking about online scams in print newspapers work? “I think it’s a myth that no one reads the newspaper,” quips Desai, explaining that the campaign is mostly aimed at a populace you “would not find on LinkedIn or as the target of digital advertising.” These individuals do not only live in villages but also in Tier II and Tier III regions of India.

For instance, a man who uses UPI at the paan shop to buy a cigarette in the morning and then sits down to read the newspaper at a tea stall is the kind of person this campaign aims to reach.

What about running a campaign on television, considering this target group consumes cable television? While they do watch TV, they are likely to miss the advert, says Desai. They are, however, very engaged with newspapers. That said, the NPCI is also running ads, made by Ogilvy, on cable television featuring actor Pankaj Tripathi, as part of its Main Moorkh Nahi Hoon campaign.

Desai reveals the comic strip is currently bi-weekly but will soon become a weekly feature. Regarding the turnaround time, the founder says the agency sends the strips to The Times of India within a week of receiving reports from NPCI.

Asked about the usual approval challenges, Desai notes there was some back-and-forth in the initial days. “Now, we also understand what gets approved and what doesn’t.”