Pakistan (Islamic Republic of Pakistan) was established with great efforts and was attained after loss of valuable lives…the ideology was to gain a separate entity for Muslims (true believers of the religion, Islam) which condemns all illegal business practices. The reason behind quoting this from the Quran is to make us understand how unlawful and unethical business practices or illegal advertising can be! The modern era has forgotten most of the Islamic beliefs and we have moderated our values in our own benefit and this is what most of today`s companies’ have done to advertise their products or brands; in a manner that they forget the legal practices or legal ways to be followed.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has described a rather detailed code of conduct, for advertisers, cable operators and other such persons; according to which they must follow certain rules and regulations. These rules and regulations and the details of the ordinance can be viewed from their website. When I started my research for this article I came across the ordinance and was very much amazed that the content of certain ads and programs is illegal. Even I couldn’t believe that companies of such high repute are also very likely to indulge in illegal advertising. To make this whole article very clear let me first share the definition of an Advertisement as described by PEMRA. “Advertisement” means a set of visual and audio messages for the projection of a product, service, or idea with the object of propagating sale, purchase or hire of the product, service or idea and for creating other related effects.
Today however companies have started to use advertisements as a means of defaming each other. For example, the Jazz Ramadan offer ad, in which Azfar and Mani openly criticize Ufone’s similar offer. The ads of cellular companies are very fast moving and show ups like these leave a bad taste in the viewers’ minds. However this mal practice does not end here in fact it extends to the whole of the world, as not only local Pakistani companies but international companies of high repute are also indulgent in this menace.
In Section 20 of this same Ordinance now known as an Act, the authority has described a very clear and concise code of conduct especially for media advertisers. Following are some of the rules they have specified:
(a) Ensure preservation of the sovereignty, security and integrity of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
(b) Ensure preservation of the national, cultural, social and religious values and the principles of public policy as enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
(c) Ensure that all programs and advertisements do not contain or encourage violence, terrorism, racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, sectarianism, extremism, militancy, hatred, pornography, obscenity, vulgarity or other material offensive to commonly accepted standards of decency.
(d) During a regular program a continuous break for advertising shall not exceed three minutes and duration between two such successive breaks shall not be less than fifteen minutes.
With these three rules in mind there are a couple of ads that I may discuss here as examples of illegal advertisements.
Nowadays a lot of developmental projects are in progress and every now then we can see ads of these projects as well. Where can we see these ads; is a question that a few may ask; well nowadays every common household has Cable Channels and each of these channels show these ads. These ads are very vulgar and indecent however they are never protested against and go on running as long as the cable wishes to run them.
Similarly the ordinance prohibits discrimination of all sorts, however we still see ads of fairness creams, which not only openly discriminate against people with dark skins but also shape peoples’ perception of beauty which is rather illegal as well as unethical. No individual or company has the right to shape viewers perceptions, neither do they have the right to typecast and degrade people.
In this context I would also like to discuss the emerging trend of sanitary pads ads and ladies hair removing creams’ ads. Pakistan is an Islamic state and also the PEMRA Ordinance suggests that no vulgar, indecent and obscene ad should be shown on television. However it looks to me like advertisers and television channels either do not consider them obscene or they just want to indulge in illegal practices. Both of the forth mentioned products are girls only and their appearance on TV is discomforting for them; also these ads do not comply with Islamic values.
Also according to the PEMRA ordinance an advertisement should not be a means of false claims regarding a product. This practice of false claims is not new however advertisers often tend to use it for commercials of beauty soaps, detergents, anti bacterial soaps, cleaners etc. In these commercials, particularly those of anti bacterial soaps, companies claim to have conducted surveys of which no number is ever specified. Certain ads picture doctors recommending the advertised soap which is illegal not only in the profession of advertising but also in the profession of medicine. No doctor is allowed to prescribe soaps and even medicines of particular brands or companies.
Similarly the ordinance also says that during a program a continuous advertising break shall not exceed three minutes, and the minimum time interval between two breaks should be at least fifteen minutes, both these rules have been put aside by advertisers and television channels. Whilst watching a program it is very annoying to tolerate these ads.
I am not against advertising however they way advertising is being used in our country is very disturbing. Apart from government inaction we viewers are also suffering from self inaction and laziness. It is our right and duty to report such matters and take charge against this violation of rules, regulations and rights. Is it perfectly alright to criticize, ridicule and discriminate against dark skins? Can’t companies create awareness regarding the use of sanitary pads and hair removing creams without showing their ads on TV? Can’t companies just advertise their own product without criticizing their competitors? Can’t TV channel shorten the span of advertisement breaks? Can’t soaps, detergents and cleaners be used without doctor recommendations? The answer to all these questions is yes. However it is our laziness, inaction and ignorance that has let advertisers, companies and television channels take advantage and keep practicing their illegal practices. Even today if we want to stop them we can do so by lodging complaints with the PEMRA in the manner prescribed by their ordinance. It is never late than ever.
