Sunsilk Pakistan’s recent campaign #ShaanSeShine has become the talk of the town and we can agree that it has struck all the right notes. The campaign highlighted gender stereotypes and conventions put forward by the larger society and people. The ‘log’ in our life are many who say many things and the concept of “Unhoone kaha” was beautifully executed by leading celebrities, influencers, and girls from all walks of life to share their struggles while posing with their faces unrevealed in black and white photographs.
The second phase of the campaign revealed some of the most inspiring stories from girls across Pakistan. Sarwat Gilani shared how people’s perception was that after having kids she wouldn’t be able to manage her career. Hajra Khan shared that she was told “Football khelna nazuk larkio ka kaam nahi” and we saw Zenith Irfan sharing a similar narrative that girls could not ride motorbikes. In the same way, we saw various celebrities such as Ushna Shah, Aiman Khan, Yumna Zaidi, Azekah Daniyal, Urwa Hocane, Ramsha Khan, Mansha Pasha, and Sumbul Iqbal narrating their struggles.
However, the highlight of the campaign was the turning point which celebrated the successes of these girls and how despite all social barriers, they rose to success and were able to achieve their goals. This hard hitting content and determination resonated with a cross section of consumers and comments poured in with girls sharing similar struggles and moments of strength. It’s motivating to see how one thought put across correctly can begin a movement of empowerment. That is what the brand aimed to do and achieved.
Syed Fahad Husain, from the Sunsilk brand team shed more light on the purpose of this campaign.
“Sunsilk’s brand purpose is to open up possibilities for girls in Pakistan by inspiring them through real inspirational stories so they’re able to take all challenges head-on and are able to shine in their own unique way. With Black Shine’s #ShaanSeShine campaign, we wanted to focus on diversifying the thought process of society when they look at a girl and assume one thing about her and lead to dictating her life goals. I strongly feel that we achieved to highlight that problematic nature through this campaign and were able to showcase through real inspirational stories on how to break away from that stereotype positively”.
