Tag: The Times of India

India – As digital scams targeting everyday Indians become increasingly common, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and The Times of India have joined forces to bring back R.K. Laxman’s iconic ‘Common Man.’ The beloved character takes centre stage in a new awareness campaign aimed at combating phishing and fraud schemes.

The ‘Common Man,’ an iconic figure in Indian culture, has long resonated with audiences through his witty observations and relatable predicaments. He embodies the spirit of the everyday Indian—quietly resilient, unassuming, yet perceptive and sharp when it matters most.

With this vision, NPCI and The Times of India brought the ‘Common Man’ back in a ‘Conman Vs. Common Man’ avatar to tackle the rising concerns around digital payment safety—delivering the message with his signature wit and a refreshingly non-preachy approach.

Developed by NPCI’s creative partner, tgthr., the campaign brings back the original comic strip format, humorously showcasing the Common Man outsmarting conmen attempting the latest scams. From investment frauds to phishing schemes, the Common Man’s unassuming yet sharp persona serves as a powerful tool to promote digital payment safety.

‘Conman Vs. Common Man’ goes beyond awareness, empowering Indians to embrace UPI’s ease and safety while promoting vigilance. By leveraging the iconic Common Man, the campaign inspires trust and encourages users to safeguard their digital transactions, aiming for a cashless, secure India.

Aalap Desai, co-founder and CCO of tgthr., shared, “A smarter strain of crime calls for a smarter kind of criminal. Scammers today are ever-evolving and highly tech-savvy, using social engineering to scam people out of their life savings.”

Desai further explained, “With NPCI, we realised that the reason for this evolution is that awareness drastically reduces the success rate of these scams. It might sound like a cliché, but the answer was in the brief itself. The need of the time is a widely popular character, recognised by the whole country, with wit that remained unchanged in an ever-changing world, so even a layman can laugh and learn at the same time. Reminds you of someone? ”

Meanwhile, Sameer Sainani, president of Optimal Media Solutions, said, “Our iconic ‘Common Man’ has been a witness to every event that has defined India. Digital payments, a defining moment in our nation’s tech prowess, have seen widespread adoption, notwithstanding emerging challenges. tgthr. has successfully captured the essence of this beloved character for NPCI’s digital safety initiative.”

“By utilising the ‘Common Man’s’ signature wit and innocent humour to address the growing concern of digital duping, it shows a powerful problem-solving approach. This has resonated with today’s India, making it a potent tool in combating scams,” Sainani added. 

NPCI and The Times of India’s campaign comes at a time when the rise of digital payments has fuelled increasingly sophisticated scams, from phishing to fake payment links, targeting unsuspecting users daily.

Ramesh Yadav, chief of marketing at NPCI, said, “We’re excited to partner with The Times of India and the Common Man to promote digital payment safety. As digital transactions become more widespread, it’s crucial to understand how to use them securely. This campaign educates everyone on avoiding scams through an engaging narrative. By reintroducing the Common Man, we emphasise the timeless values of caution and insight, helping everyone navigate the digital world safely.”

The Common Man comic strip will be featured in Hindi, English, Kannada, and Marathi across various newspapers.

India – Made in collaboration with marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson India, Indian English-language newspaper The Times of India (TOI) has launched its new campaign that elevates unity despite the diverse differences in India.

Titled ‘The Idea of India’, the campaign featured a short film that invites every Indian to participate and celebrate their perspective of India in their own way through the hashtag #WhatMakesUsOne.

The visual thread for the film is the festival of lights captured by cinematographers and drone photographers and timelapse content creators throughout the festive season. It also included a narrative taken from the speeches of India’s inspiring leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi, AB Vajpayee and Narendra Modi — the voices that set fire to the ‘Idea of India.’

“In this context, our new initiative from TOI – #WhatMakesUsOne, focuses on the many unifying threads that make up our Idea Of India. Despite our diversity and multiculturism, the threads that unite us also drive our growth in the world today powerfully,” said Kaustuv Chatterjee, brand director at TOI & Languages.

He also added that through the campaign, TOI hopes to spark conversations and connections around what makes Indians one as they celebrate the country’s 74th year of becoming a Republic.

Meanwhile, Wunderman Thompson India’s Chief Creative & Film Director Senthil Kumar also commented, “India was an idea long before it became a free nation… It is the same thread that continues to bind us as one nation, in spite of our diverse differences. It is the invisible ektara that stirs our souls and ignites our hearts. This binding thread of tolerance and inclusivity is represented as the thread of light cinematically and metaphorically in the powerful Times Of India narrative form.”

Joy Chauhan, senior VP & managing partner at Wunderman Thompson Delhi added, “The idea of India is a campaign that makes you pause and yet again fall in love with our magical nation… It was an opportune time to celebrate our diversity and #WhatMakesUsOne. We are proud to partner [with] the iconic Times of India in this celebration.”

The campaign is live across national news media, social media, and various digital platforms. 

‘The Idea of India’ follows TOI’s ‘Maa Aashcen. Tumi Kothaye?’ campaign in October 2022, which was targeted at celebrating togetherness and connection between loved ones during Hindu festival.

India – To honour the Durga Puja celebration, which is an annual Hindu festival in India celebrated from 1 to 5 October, The Times of India (TOI), an Indian English-language daily newspaper under The Times Group, has launched a new campaign called ‘Maa Aashcen. Tumi Kothaye?’, which in English translates to ‘Maa Durga is coming home, where are you?’. This aims to celebrate togetherness and connection between loved ones during the festival.

Conceptualised by creative agency Wunderman Thompson India, the campaign showcases the feeling of belonging, togetherness, and reaching out to dear ones, who can’t be with their families this year during the festival. Loved ones will urge those separated to continue with the celebrations wherever they are. The idea is to remind them that they are with their families during this festive period and that is the real essence of Durga Puja.

The print campaign brings this alive by showcasing visuals of two friends connecting through a symbol of joining their hands to form a heart, while the video campaign is a tale of two friends, who now live in two different cities – Mumbai and Kolkata. The film also features actress Priyanka Sarkar and dancer, actress Sreenanda Shankar as friends who share their story of separation and how Durga Puja unites them.

Additionally, in an endeavour to connect with readers to celebrate with missed loved ones, TOI has invited them to share the pictures on www.phireyeshokolkata.com. Hundreds of entries from Kolkatans and Bengalis across the cities have been received. Select quotes have been featured in the newspaper.

Kaustuv Chatterjee, brand director of TOI and Languages, said, “TOI, India’s most trusted news brand, has always celebrated the incredibly rich socio-cultural fabric of our country. Durga Puja is one of the largest festivals in the nation, in which people from all sections and communities participate and come together, not just Bengalis, to seek Durga Ma’s blessings.”