Union Bank of India: Currency, Lincoln

Please be more elaborate, especially when trashing the ad. Thank you!

Well... ok... lets take a crack at this... I like a challenge...

So yeah, this is pretty offensive superficially if you do not consider what they are trying to do. I think the premise of this series is trying to say that their bank is backing with the foreign currency and all that jazz. Or trying to say how universal they are or that they are accommodating to their international customers.

Either way, none of the images in this series are very clear in their meaning and can easily be taken offensively by the different countries (mainly that it's a confusingly aggressive since the U.S. people may already see India taking a lot of revenue and money out of the country).

I think the premise could be clarified more and somehow worked in a more appropriate/universal way.

But who knows, this just might be one of those cultural things. I hate to say it, but my first thought when I saw this was "man, that's pretty offensive" but I had to sit down with it for a little while to try and get it. Things like these ad agencies may need to be careful with.

For instance, look up "absolut vodka mexico ad" on google images. This was taken VERY wrong in the U.S. but it was non-aggressive and not supposed to be offensive... but it was to the U.S. people that saw it and Absolut had to issue a letter of apology.

"shahidali" says: joint account? !!!!!!! union bank of india with a united states of america 5 dollar note + the lincoln couple. what can these denote?
a. couple representing joint account
b. the dollar represnting global banking or foreign currency account
c. union bank of india: representing inefficiency, lack of ideas and understanding, ....

"Reality Check" counters: The different currencies communicate that the Union Bank of India deals with more than one type of customer. It is, after all, a bank, serviced by customers not only from India, but from expatriates from, say, the United States of America. It can also convey that Asian citizens who work abroad require a bank that easily and efficiently deals with foreign currencies, which neatly leads my second point:

Perhaps a Union Bank joint account is a novel service to Asian citizens. I checked the Union Bank of India Web site, and two of the most frequently asked questions are:

1) Can a non-resident of India (NRI) open joint accounts with one or more NRIs?

2) Can an NRI open joint accounts with residents?

So, based on these questions, a joint account (especially one with Asians working abroad) is of some importance and, to me, signifies an understanding of a particular customer's needs.

I hope this helps.

ahhhhhh, joint account! now that makes sense!

yeesh... Lincoln's wife though... >P

cheers! (couldn't agree more).