A few days ago a heartwarming Ad featuring Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Nanda was released. This was the first ad the duo has ever starred in together and the initial response it got was pretty positive too. Until it received some backlash from the banking sector. The Ad shows Big B as an aged father who goes to the bank with his daughter to return the extra money he has received as pension. But the video shows the bank employees being extremely rude and mocking towards his cause. But Sr. Bachchan’s character is adamant that he will return the money, the ad ends with a message that says ‘Galat toh galat hai’ and the brands usual brand USP of trust comes in. While the ad may seem innocent, the banking sector in our country has taken offense to the video that shows bank employees in a poor light.
The brand immediately withdrew the advertising and issued an apology statement via NDTV.
We sincerely regret the inadvertent hurt caused and withdraw the advertisement from all media with immediate effect. We understand that the advertisement has hurt sentiments of some people including members of our esteemed banking community. Any such hurtful interpretation being drawn is unintended. We state that the creative advertisement was a work of fiction and not a reflection of banking employees at large. Along with crores of Indians, we acknowledge the valuable contribution of the banking community to our country.
After the ad was released All India Bank Officers’ Confederation threatened to sue Kalyan Jewellers if the ad wasn’t removed.
The brand reacted to this by clarifying that the ad was pure fiction and they didn’t mean to hurt any sentiments or generalize bank officers at large.