The month of Ramzan brings out the goodness in us all and when it comes to advertisements, that goodness translates – more or less – to one thing. The perfect family.
The month of Ramzan brings out the goodness in us all and when it comes to advertisements, that goodness translates – more or less – to one thing.
Advertisements such as this 7-Up campaign celebrate a love for food, which every Pakistani knows and loves too well. It is hip
and catchy and we approve!
(or dastarkhwan) populated with three generations of men dressed in crisp white shalwar kameezes, the ba-pardah bahu and betis with perfectly poised dupattas (dressed in colours corresponding to the product being promoted) walking in with a tray full of delicious goodies, kids eagerly holding onto a glass of icy cold sharbat…these ads feature and exploit every possible stereotype there is in the book of ‘The Perfect Family’ clichés.
The latest in this year’s posse of Ramzan ads is Shan Masala’s promotional campaign. It’s a tear jerker, portraying two brothers studying abroad and desperately craving their mother’s warmth and hustle bustle of Eid as it is known and celebrated back home in Pakistan. The ad has resonated with the huge population of expats and especially students as nostalgia hits most of them severely during festive occasions, such as Eid or family weddings. It’s well shot, it’s effective and it does hit all the right emotional notes. It has to be one of the most truthful ads to have played out this season.
However, not many campaigns can be credited with honesty. Ramzan ads love to play up the perfect family, the perfect dining table, heritage, patriotism and in fact every possible ‘ism’ there is in the dictionary. But living in Pakistan, one wonders whether these advertisements deliberately turn a blind eye to the country’s harsh reality or whether they desperately cling to a fantasy that is almost long forgotten? Has no one in the Creative Department at ad agencies noticed that the Pakistan projected in chai, doodh and sharbat campaigns does not exist anymore? Clearly, the impact of a picture perfect fantasy is much more beneficial to a campaign.
The dichotomy has been perfectly expressed by several online memes and
The emotional ad for Shan Masala has resonated well with expats and all those living away from home at the time of Ramzan and Eid.
Does one hold on to the fantasy and find joy and happiness in a far-fetched ideal while hundreds of thousands around don’t even have a ray of hope to hold on to? There are people sleeping on the streets who can’t even find the shade of a tree thanks to the Metro/Motorway tree massacre. Analysts did quote deforestation as one reason for the killer temperatures that hit Karachi last week. We constantly complain and protest against photoshopping and changing the image of models and celebrities for a better looking fashion campaign, thus portraying an incorrect and unachievable ideal, but what do we say when ads airbrush the reality of an entire nation? Isn’t it the same thing, only worse?One would urge the masterminds at ad agencies to find some desirable sense of reality to celebrate. They need to rethink their strategy and play with the reality of Pakistan in their ads. There are ads that celebrate a love for food, for example, which is very real to Pakistan. These ads are catchy and resonate with the soul of what it means to be Pakistani. The last thing we need right now is a preachy-perfect image of what could have, should have been Pakistan but clearly isn’t.