Kalyan Jewellers ad with Big B & daughter hits a wall, withdrawn after protest

In what was meant to be a perfect platform to weave an emotional narrative featuring Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda, has fizzled out when faced with sharp protests. Kalyan Jewellers’ latest campaign featuring the father-daughter duo has been withdrawn following strong protests from the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, which had threatened to sue the company. 

As per media reports, the banking union had serious issue with the way banks and its personnel were depicted in the ad. Scripted by L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by GB Vijay from Sculptors Production, the ad film narrates the story of a father and daughter, while also echoing the values of trust and transparency, that brand Kalyan Jewellers stands for. 

The ad shows Bachchan as an elderly and upright person who meets with very rude and indifferent treatment from his own bank when he goes there to return the extra money credited in his pension account. Bachchan is accompanied by his daughter, who is pained by the treatment that her father has to face. 

The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation’s contention was that the ad portrayed banks in bad light, casting aspersion, hurting the sentiment of millions of personnel and stakeholders. In a statement issued, the banking union's general secretary Soumya Datta had alleged that the ad was aimed to create distrust in the banking system for pure commercial gain. 

This is the second time that Bachchan has faced public ire this year. The earlier instance was when the Bollywood legend was urged by a group of health experts to refrain from associating with or supporting Horlicks-led drive against malnutrition, called ‘Mission Poshan’. According to the health experts, Horlicks contained high sugar and could lead to childhood obesity and non-communicable disease in later life. 

A few years back, Bachchan was in the eye of the storm, along with a handful of other brand endorsers, for promoting Maggi Noodles from Nestle. At that time, Maggi was under the FSSAI scanner for containing lead and MSG in quantities more than the permissible limit. Maggi was subsequently withdrawn from the market till its formulation was changed and complied with the permissible limit.

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