Quicko: Safeguarding 'baap ki public property'

The online financial services portal has launched its first brand campaign 'Proud to Pay Tax'.

After its star-studded public service initiative 'Right to Pay Tax', Quicko, the online financial services portal, has launched its first brand campaign titled 'Proud to Pay Tax'. The communication has been conceptualised by Scarecrow Communications and produced by Connect.1, a division of Mukta Arts.

The largely digital campaign, comprising 11 ads, uses the common Indian phrase 'mere baap ka hai' to evoke its audience. While all the ads feature kids, some have a narrative around the misuse of public property, and others are short monologues. All ads end with the idea, 'Ye public property mere baap ki hai, because my dad pays tax'.

"We observed that when it comes to enjoying basic public facilities, people behave irresponsibly. When questioned about their behaviour, the standard response is, 'Yeh public property tere baap ki hai kya?'. This is where the insight comes from," says Manish Bhatt, founder-director, Scarecrow Communications. He adds, "People are largely cynical about paying taxes, which is why the use of such a phrase was needed to shake their inertia."

While the campaign seems to address two causes at once, taxpaying and public property destruction, Bhatt explains that the latter is a by-product of the storyline and the singular focus lies on evoking people to pay their taxes.

Vishvajit Sonagara, founder, Quicko, says, "Only 2.89 per cent Indians filed their taxes last year and we wish to change that. We have designed a software that not only makes tax returns filing easy, but our data visualisation and charts help users understand the big picture and finest details in a single experience; thus, enriching the overall process of tax filing."

The ad will be promoted on YouTube, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and on Google ads. The brand has also created merchandise around the campaign, which are available on Freecultr.