HDFC Bank’s Vigil Aunty – End of Scam Sale Campaign Wins a Silver Cannes Lions

Ahmedabad : HDFC Bank, India’s leading private sector bank, announced that it has won a Silver at the Cannes Lions 2024 for the Vigil Aunty – End of Scam Sale (EOSS) Campaign. The social media campaign, featuring actress Nora Fatehi and Vigil Aunty, has so far acquired a reach of over 28 million and 22 million views. Vigil Aunty is a fictional social media character created by HDFC Bank to spread awareness on digital frauds.

As part of the EOSS Campaign, HDFC Bank used actress Nora Fatehi’s star power to replicate the modus operandi of fraudsters and make the public aware of how one can easily be susceptible to deepfakes and frauds. The Bank created a fake brand and had audiences believe in its legitimacy by creating an Instagram page for ‘Lulumelon’, making it sound like a genuine brand with exciting offers and deals. The campaign was recognised at the prestigious Cannes Lions for the best use of ‘Events & Stunts’.

Ravi Santhanam, Group Head, Chief Marketing Officer and Head – Direct to Consumer Business, HDFC Bank said, “Winning a Cannes Lions for our fraud awareness campaign only adds to our commitment to spreading awareness about the issue, to help customers avoid becoming victims of digital frauds. This recognition is a testament to the exceptional creative talent of our agency partners, FCBKinnect. Working together, we are delighted to have created an impactful campaign with an innovative approach. For us, powerful storytelling for a relevant cause was gratifying and we stay committed to making more and more consumers aware about the issue.”

Jahid Ahmed, SVP & Head of Digital Marketing, HDFC Bank said, “We are delighted to be amongst the winners at the industry’s most prestigious awards, Cannes Lions. Along with our partners at FCBKinnect, we are proud to have created the innovative ‘Lulumelon- End of Scam Sale’ campaign for digital fraud awareness, subtly leveraging the concept of optimism bias. We stand proud to come up with and take forward this impactful campaign for fraud prevention.”

The Vigil Aunty initiative, launched in 2022, introduced an influencer who urged people nationwide to adopt safe banking habits. The campaign has been instrumental in promoting secure banking awareness and educating the public on various digital fraud techniques employed by fraudsters. Since its launch, the initiative has garnered a substantial fan base of over two million across social media platforms, covering over 60 modus operandi to educate customers on preventive measures against various types of fraud.

Vigil Aunty EOSS campaign has also won one Grand Prix, three Gold, three Silver awards, and two Bronze awards at the Abbys Award held at Goafest, along with two Baby Elephant awards at Kyoorius and two ET Trendies awards.