The other day I got this SMS from a friend. It simply said: ?SBI TVC gulo parle dekho?. For the uninitiated, SBI is State Bank of India and TVC is television commercial. So, in essence, this friend was recommending the television ads of State Bank of India. I did watch the ads on television. Even if I wanted to, I could not have missed them.

One good reason for that would be that the ads are everywhere. GRPs that have been put behind the campaign are phenomenal. Sorry again. GRP stands for Gross Rating Points and is calculated by adding the TRPs of the programme in which the ads have been placed. TRP in turn stands for Television Rating Point that signifies how popular a TV programme is. More popular a programme, more expensive it usually is to advertise in that programme. So GRP indicates both ? the money spent on a campaign and the number of people who were given the opportunity to see the ads. Now that the tutorial on media planning is over, let me get to the point.

Apart from GRP, there is another very good and possibly more important reason why the recent SBI campaign is noteworthy. The brand is the largest public sector bank in India. Its image has not been nourished for sometime. So the ad makers unearthed a few key points that could make people sit up and see the good ol? State Bank in a new light. The ones chosen are indeed very powerful selling points. From having the largest number of ATMs to offering a home loan that paid for doing up the interiors as well, pledging the convenience of Sunday banking to presenting a car financing scheme that covered all costs to put the vehicle on the road ? these are potent weapons. Each of them translates into a very real and relevant benefit.

That was half the battle won. Yet, the other half could easily have ruined the advantage. There possibly lies the greatest strength of the campaign ? its format. It is a gem of a concept ? hilarious penalties for losing bets. On the one hand, the issue involved in each bet underscores a selling point of the bank. On the other, the penalties for losing the bets offer enough drama for enjoyment.

There is this ad where a man has to change his name for not knowing that the bank with the largest number of ATMs is State Bank. Another ad has the man flattening the nth dough for making papad for a similar offence. In yet another one, the otherwise impeccably dressed executive arrives in office sans his trousers. And then there is this young guy who is forced to wax his legs in a parlour. All had committed similar sins ? they lost bets that involved knowing a crucial fact about State Bank.

It indeed is a memorable campaign. Nothing like this has been done in the recent past.

There is just one issue. State Bank is in the business of providing financial services to millions of small depositors. A service unfortunately is more vulnerable to perception than many tangible products. A delay in cashing the cheque may become a lot more tolerable if the man at the counter is sympathetic or the seating space in the bank is comfortable. The sources of customer satisfaction are usually multifarious and often silently inter related.

State Bank has taken a great first step towards rejuvenation of its image by inducting a brilliant pianist. It now needs to remind itself that marketing is not a solo recital. It demands nothing less than a philharmonic orchestra.