FNB cancels its R20 million anti-crime initiative designed to encourage President Thabo Mbeki to make crime his priority

On 2 February 2007, First National bank cancelled its R 20 million anti-crime campaign. The bank had launched the campaign with the intention of encouraging then President Thabo Mbeki to make crime his priority. However, after a private meeting with the presidency, which had complained that the campaign was a form of incitement against Mbeki, the bank decided to cancel the campaign. In 2013, FNB created a deja vu moment when it launched the “U can help” campaign aimed at encouraging the public and politicians to work together to make South Africa a better country, only to delete some of the content after a backlash from the ANC. The ANC labeled the campaign treasonous, and after a meeting with the bank management, the campaign was then modified to pacify the government