UBL Good Citizen Account, an account for no one or everyone?
A few months back the campaign of Roshan Digital Account targeted overseas Pakistanis. The concept made full use of patriotic sentiments. The strategy was ‘inclusive’. On the other hand, the recent UBL Good Citizen Account campaign is noteworthy for a different reason; ‘good citizen’. Doesn’t it make the campaign ‘exclusive’?
How would you define a good citizen? A law-abiding individual? A person who feels responsible for his surroundings? Or a person who simply does his job right? A good citizen should have all of the above qualities. The question is, do Pakistanis from any perspective qualify to be termed as good citizens. UBL Good Citizen Account is dedicated to the good citizens of the country. The TVC begins with the line ‘Har Zimedaar Pakistani Kay Naam’ that later points out who those individuals really are.
For the better part of the TVC, you feel like watching a paint brand ad. There are three sequences of painting. In one sequence an elderly person is decorating his Foxy with truck art. In another sequence boys and girls are shown doing graffiti on a wall, it reads ‘Har Zimedaar Pakistani Kay Naam’. A young boy, in yet another sequence, is busy painting his bicycle. All these people doing what they like doing in their leisure time come under (according to UBL) the umbrella of good citizens.
There are some glimpses of actual good citizens here and there. A doctor posing for the screen, a UBL employee in front of the Bank building, a farmer in his fields as well as a few people collecting garbage. The all-important question still remains the same, who is a good citizen? UBL Good Citizen Account campaign could have explained the concept better.
The national song Sohni Dharti is also out of place. Hearing the song, one feels the ad is made for a national occasion like Independence Day or 23rd March. Good citizenship is nothing to do about patriotism, it’s about responsibility. A Pakistani in a civilized country becomes a good citizen not because he develops patriotic sentiments towards that country but with discipline, strict law enforcement, and properly functioning systems. One does not become patriotic, or a good citizen for that matter by collecting garbage from streets. The problem of garbage collection can never be solved with individual efforts unless there are modern waste management tools in place. UBL Good Citizen Account is not exciting or inspiring, to say the least. A better creative strategy was needed to tackle a Good Citizen.
