Bidvest Bank Shubh Yatra (Happy Travels)

Bidvest Bank – Shubh Yatra
Over the last little while I have been subjected to the most irritating ad known to radio. It is from Bidvest bank, advertising their foreign currency services to the Indian community. The ad is currently being flighted on Lotus Fm. The delivery of the ad in the typical Peter Sellers type Indian accent is actually quite annoying. It is a clear cut illustration of a creative team that missed the mark. It seems they were ill informed on the brief or the strategic planner just did not quite think this through. This type of stereotyping of a community is past it’s sell by date and is no longer remotely funny.  I am sure the client and the creative team must have approved this ad on a Friday during lunch. One would have thought that Bidvest would want to make an impression and inroads into a community who regularly travels abroad especially to India. Sadly an opportunity missed. I would rather go to Steve and his Beep bank to buy my foreign currency than to go to a bank that has chosen to talk to me in a disrespectful manner.
The Indian community is probably among the simplest to market too. If one listens to Lotus FM, watch Eastern Mosaic on TV or any of the Indian channels on DSTV, the advertising is largely based on targeting a grouping of people say LSM 8-10 rather than Black, White or Indian.  The ads that appear on SABC TV or ETV are the same used to target the Indian sector of the market. And they do work. The ads that appeal to a white or a black person will in most instances also appeal to a person of Indian descent, unless of course it is in another language.
Hats off to Bidvest in thinking that they should have a specific ad to the Indian Diaspora, however in their attempt they got it completely wrong. How could they have improved it? Simply, using groupings from AMPS and TGI would have given them an understanding of the audience. A visit to Chatsworth Centre in Durban or Trade Route Mall in Lenasia would have also helped. This would have provided them with an opportunity to observe their target audience and simply just hear them speak. Even people from India don’t speak English in the way the ad portrays it.
The creative team may argue that this is a fun and tongue and cheek way of getting a message across.  Maybe so, but it is still offensive and an outdated way of marketing a message.  If Radio was the main driver of the message it should have been made simpler and less odious.  I have no doubt that it has given a few people in the boardroom and recording studio a few laughs, but unfortunately it just does not work. This is a typical example of a great initiative talking to a specific audience gone horribly wrong.  All I can say to Bidvest is ensure that your Insight into your target market is correct. Speak to them in a tone and manner that is not condescending.
Bidvest Bank Shubh Yatra (Happy Travels). This ad is a definite DOUBLE ZERO.