Want to open a joint account like the Gandhi couple?

I came across an interesting ad that was created by Mudra communications for Union bank of India a couple of years ago. The ad shows Kasturba Gandhi's image next to Mahatma Gandhi's picture on a 100 Rs note. The ad ofcourse can irk a few who might find the use of Mahatma Gandhi and his wife's images and a photo-shopped currency note unacceptable to accomplish a commercial objective.

Nevertheless, the ad does the job brilliantly.

• The ad builds an imaginary story for the promotional piece. It subtly shows arguably the most revered couple of the country on a currency note which for sure catches the eye-balls due to its peculiarity.

• It also does well to piggyback its message on a light humor.

• It also educates the prospective customers on the idea of a husband and wife sharing a joint account, hence accentuating the service penetration by educating the customer of potential use of this service

• It may also lead to give an emotional platform for a couple to share something as confidential as a bank account

• Another aspect that is worth a mention is that the ad does not rely on any functional attribute of the service(joint account in this case) since it is not trying to build the category(which it assumes is already known to its prospective customers)

• It was especially interesting to see the ad 'pick' someone as venerable as Mahatma Gandhi as the brand's "virtual-celebrity endorser". Some might find it strange but what the ad has been able to do is - use a trusted prop(a currency note), trusted virtual-brand ambassadors' pictures together(Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi) and put across the message in a very simple and plain tone. (No mention of the message anywhere except in the corner along with the Union Bank logo)

It is worthwhile to mention that such an ad coming out from a public sector bank with Indian government having a majority stake in it, is especially perplexing.

Cheers,

Cheers