Illegal advertising in Pakistan

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.

Cheap advertising

Advertising doesn't have to be expensive to be effective. It can make or break your business...but it doesn't have to break your bank account in the process. Even though good business ideas are difficult to discover, there's plenty around if you care to look. But what really matters is turning ideas into practice, theory into reality! But question is this at what cost? Commonly quoted figures for a budget marketing method are around 10% of turnover for a large business & around 20% for smaller businesses. Remember, marketing and advertising is an investment not a cost.

To be effective, advertising must be interruptive—that is, it must make you stop thumbing through the newspaper or thinking about your day long enough to read or hear the ad. Advertising must also be credible, unique, and memorable in order to work. Before making an advertise you must check an advertise through this list, of course, there are no ready formula for beating bull’s eye design, creative solutions, however, look at the basic strategies for successful advertising ;

·         To have success, must offer the advertising a consumer benefit or a problem to solve.

·         The fact that the benefit or solution must be obtained by consumers.

·         The product or service offered should be directly linked to the benefits or the solution.

·         The benefit or solution must be clearly communicated through media advertising. In other words, be clear, forget the brilliance of advertising and ensure that the message is not lost on the ad.

In Pakistan there are many small firms working or entering the market, their products are good enough to compete with MNC‘s product, but they cannot compete them in advertising and publicizing their product, because MNC’s spend a huge amount of their revenue every year on advertising and marketing that is the reason why many small local firms in Pakistan do not make a lot of business because they lack the resources to compete. Unfortunately in Pakistan there is not much concept of low budget advertising, these firms can concentrate on low budget advertising techniques that can help these companies to compete with these MNC’s while remaining in their budget.

Some low budget marketing ideas help you to achieve a constant flow of new customers into your business by using simple, low budget marketing methods. They can be of great help if someone starting a new business... or losing customers... or want to boost profits... or all of the above.

·         Place your ads on free time or in unusual places at discounted prices. This will help in containing costs. Often, you can still reach your target audience with these points.

·         Instead of a welcome sign of a great time, consistent with frequent small ads that continue to remind customers of their present work.

·         Consider advertising in regional issues of national magazines. The costs are lower, and you can reach your target audience. TV Guide is also a good option.

·         Sponsor a community event, if you can, as a fun run, cricket tournament or other event that are well known in the community.

·         Use the media to choose the maximum. If your message is verbal, does not need television. With radio, posters and newspapers as possible.

·         Rent an advertising design agency that is not on top of the stack, but can be creative and offer specializing in interactive campaigns for creative design solutions.

·         Send classified ads through weekly newspapers, metropolitan dailies, and national magazines. Readers in these areas may not be looking for your product, but your ad will be seen by individuals who are looking for specific information. On that note, classified ads need to be written in a clear and simple manner. Only feature one product/service per ad. If you offer more than one product, consider running a separate ad for each product you want featured.

·         Coupon Mailers contain cards advertising several different companies and their products. These are also known as "card decks" and reduce the cost of mailing.

·         Distribute handbills on the street; you can hire a high school or college student to do the grunt work for you. There are even distribution services you can hire at a low cost to pass these handbills out.

·         Print attractive and informative business cards that include your logo and hand them out everywhere, consistently! If you use letterhead stationery in your business, have it match your business card. Keep your identity as consistent as possible.

·         Print up some gift certificates. These let your customers introduce you to new customers. Since you get paid up front for the product or service, they are good for your cash flow.

·         Brochures let you provide a lot of detail about your product or service.

·         Flyers can be created very inexpensively on your computer, or by a local print shop.

·         Door hangers are very effective and widely used by fast food and home delivery and service businesses. If you choose this medium, use heavy stock so it won't blow off doorknobs and litter the neighborhood.

·         Paper or plastic bags and packaging make economical billboards. Print your name, logo, and message on anything you can, on all sides.

·         On the Internet there are many low budget advertising alternatives and methods to promote a website of your own and these are considered the best for reaching a targeted audience and low cost advertisements which can be implemented in many online ways. To create a website is one way of advertising, because what you do is to place your website link on different websites and if you have optimized your website properly, then your website will rank accordingly in the search engines and the more good strong and relevant backlinks you have for your website. Having an online space is cheaper than other advertising alternatives as the webhosting is very inexpensive with monthly fees and domain name charges are yearly. The main cost that you will have is the time to promote and market your website as this takes up a large percentage of your time.

·         An auto responder is a low cost way particularly if you rely solely on email advertising to build up your sites credibility through email communication and they can be very useful by providing updates to your products or your affiliate products, but also by building trust and providing quality information for your subscribers. But if you're a smart advertiser you will learn to combine many different advertising methods into a full force advertising campaign that reaches people on many levels.

·         Yellow pages is the obvious other way of advertising your business, although many might argue that the Yellow pages is becoming obsolete because of the Internet, but no as the Yellow pages is online too, so this adds to the power of the Yellow Pages advertising as people can find your business, website or phone number and contact your directly.

·         If you are a whizz with PowerPoint or an overhead projector and an drive home the point of your business, then you could include your presentation as part of a potential sales pitch where you would apply the presentation to a group of targeted people who just might purchase your product or help promote your business if you give them enough incentives to do so.

·         A newsletter is a vital update t new and existing client and can be sent through email or direct mail if your budget allows. I'd go with an email newsletter as this is far cheaper, but a photocopied newsletter sometimes can work wonders depending on your market.

·         One last thing about low cost advertising, one of the best forms of advertising is simply just talking about it. If you can relay the enthusiasm for something like your business and do it in a memorable way, then others will remember it and mention it to someone who they think would benefit from it, this is the age old Word Of Mouth and you cannot beat it, for its viral marketing capacity can be just as good as any other method, of course it's who you know and not necessarily what you know sometimes that can create some business for you.

• Whatever your business is whether a salon, a boutique, a surf shop, a restaurant or a store that sells widget or any other small business…. The lesson to be learned here is... If you have more time than you have money to advertise your business, don't stand around waiting for people to hopefully walk through your door-- Get out there and pound the pavement and do whatever it takes to bring customers to your business!

Cheeped up!

The genre of inexpensive advertisement

I switched on the TV and to my amazement, a not so bad looking local faced girl, hiding behind a wall of make-up, started walking towards me.

I know she was on TV but what’s wrong in some wishful thinking.

Draped in very uncomfortable clothes -- it seemed like that on TV -- she put out both her hands carrying a cell phone and started yaking the properties of it. The company of the cell phone 'ABC' is not that big or maybe it is non-existent at all, and the advertisement was confirming the doubt on the global-ness of the brand.

To go in a little detail of the add (advertisement), the girl was pacing around in a makeshift room cum drawing room (as it seemed from the advertisement) talking on the phone with someone.

While talking, there were quite a few raunchy poses, that she gets the attention of the audience with, and than all of a sudden start pointing out the features of the phone, including the fact that it has a very long battery time along with all the other hoopla.

In addition, why would an ad like this attract or lure someone buying the product? you ask.

Well people are people and some of them will do a lot if a girl asks them to do it, but for me, well, why would I listen to a girl who is already engaged in talking to another individual on the phone (for hours as per the advertisement).

So why would a company go all out for an advertisement like this?

Even the companies coming up with new products or brands sometimes opt for a cheaper or an inexpensive advertisement.

Well to filter out the obvious reasons, for one the company may don't have that big of a budget or better yet the company may be not that big at all. Smaller companies opting to launch their brand for a mere fraction of the giants spend on their single marketing campaign.

Is there a thin fine line for this advertisement divide, or I may say money is the divide to state the obvious. If money is the be all and see the entire advertising world, than I don’t agree with the entire thing at all.

Yes, money plays a major role in an advertisement campaign but creativity is not eager to be feed the buck.

Wonders have been and will be created with a piece of paper -- not the note of a million dollar.

When you are thinking about it, it suddenly hits your mind; we have been witnessing these rather adds since the beginning. With people trying to escape with a cheap Rs100 production in mix of some very creative and technical stuff.

You may remember, not so far back, it was dancing that attracted the audiences and sold products. Eventually some glamorous dancing sequences trickled down to outrageous moves and... Well they called it dancing. So was the case with many other trends that were going around.

Whatever is started by the big wigs of the advertisement industry, is soon copied by the second rated individuals calling themselves advertisers and what comes out as the result is a (as stated above) cheap Rs100 production.

However, the question really is; What motivates the entrepreneur to opt for inexpensive cheap advertisement rather than inexpensive and graceful?

Well, the answer is as harsh as the few candy ads. It is we the audiences, we tend to respond better to the cheapness than to the sheer elegance.

On a psychological note (my own findings), we might, after watching these adds, somehow cater to the cheapster inside of us and by buying the advertised product we try to nullify our cheapness -- keeping it with in ourselves.

Another issue considered to be tandem with in expensive marketing, is of self-made broadcasters. Major chunk of the inexpensive or cheap ads are on self-broadcasted channels.

Raising an eyebrow, that have we all together have lost our morals and what is keeping us going is the lust for money, and that is where we put the full stop.

Everything else, which goes along with, seems to have taken a secondary seat in our beliefs and ethics.

Few girls doing not anything in particular, wearing raunchy clothes and sometimes maybe dancing around to, maybe, digest all the calories they gained after eating all that candy: if this is, what our marketing is coming down to than I for one may have some serious reservation to follow my age-old dream of becoming an ace marketer.

On the contrary, when in a rebellious mood, nothing can motivate me more than a cheap advertisement to become a marketer. Well it clearly shows that the industry is far from reaching a saturation point. In addition, than there is always the thought that with all this crap being passed by as advertisement, a little creativity, panache and elegance may make it a lot easier to make a name for one.

U-TURN

You switch a channel to escape from the stupid backdrop song of the commercial and you realize that what is going on around in the world and the reality hits you.

The shock off the fact that the niche you thought you could have carved out in the small-unsaturated industry is just a hallucination of yours.

Now even the big buck spenders are opting for the cheaper way out -- no, they are not making the cheap commercials, they are not making none whatsoever.

Coca-Cola is the biggest spender on advertisements across the globe and when it comes to the Pakistani adds they would rather grab one of their Middle East commercial and run it in Pakistan.

I believe, and willing to debate, that this too comes in the realm of inexpensive advertisement.

Why you say?

Come-on, having a basket full of advertising agencies operating in the country and one of the biggest potential client is not willing to test their talents, than what’s to prove on the global scale that we posses in advertising.

Copy pasting should not be it.

In addition, looking from this point of view, you can easily justify the cheap ads. They have to keep the business running, they have to keep the clients happy the have to at the end of the day, in a real word, take something back home. You can't feed off elegance only.

When the big fish is not willing for the bate you have to go for whatever you can get. In addition, maybe that’s what our advertisers are doing.

Somehow, in a very vivid part of my brain I also have a conclusion that all this cheap advertising is doing me a favor. Favor of keeping the industry alive and kicking, until the time I mature enough to get my hands in it and maybe some (copy pasting) client walks in and offers a campaign.

In short, these copy pasting cheap escapes of the big fish is also helping the cause of inexpensive advertisement.

But, the predicament of the situation is how to trust that we may not end up with a low budget bar to play with in our advertisements or maybe copy pasting is what we may resolute our advertising to.

Than it will become a dead end as a career and an already suffering nation may lose its biggest escape of creativity.

This and a lot more courtesy the genre of inexpensive advertising.

Peek-A-Boo!

With this topic comes a strong and long debate about what concise as unethical advertisement, and to come up with one definition, of the term, which is globally acceptable for a student like me is not the wisest of ideas.

Instead of raging a debate about what should be and what shouldn't be in the realm of marketing we should rather look at instance which ca get as the global backing that either they were unethical or ethical.

Start looking at the things from the marketing perspective and it comes to you!

You start judging things from a different angle, you take the sale point of the product in view, and most importantly, you start evaluating the standards of the sales pitch... that too on your own standards.

Moreover, what your standards are remains to be discussed?

The overall environment around you and how you are raised and taught, curves your focal point of judgment. But, another long debate, bound to take us off the issue at hand.

So coming back to advertising ethics!

To pinpoint and advertisement to justify the debate on ethics would make the realm of this article limited, I'd never want that.

On talking about the global perspective of ethics in advertising, let us recall an artistic promotion, which has shaped our judgment, in some ways.

Well to raise the curtain over the mystery, we are talking about the great MONA LISA.

Background

Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Jaconde) is a sixteenth-century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel in Florence, Italy by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci during the Renaissance.

The work is currently owned by the Government of France and is on display at the Musée du Louvre museum in Paris under the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

Arguably, it is the most famous and iconic painting in the world. Considered one of the world's most popular, hyped and researched painting by different artists, historians, and researchers.

The Research

Several stories nexus with this painting have come up over the passing centuries and yet no one is still sure about the true reality of the origin.

A lot many stories have been linked with and many are considered myths and fake anecdotes just created for tapestry’s popularity.

Following are some of the stories about Mona Lisa.

1. The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seated woman whose facial expression is frequently described as enigmatic. Others believe that the slight smile is an indication that the subject is hiding a secret.

The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.

2. According to an other story Leonardo supposedly well-documented homosexuality contributed to his enlightened perspectives on the need for balance between male and female characteristics. The secret of the Mona Lisa, it claims, is that it portrays the fusion of the male and female that the painted figure is androgynous.

The same theory continues that Leonardo Da Vinci himself was gay that's why he was always fascinated by the divine union of male and female. Some historians say that Leonardo was a grand master of Priory Of Sion (a secret society established several years back having one of the most popular personals of time as its member, this society is considered to be the pagan worshipers, those who worship divine feminine the mother earth Gaea. And as Leonardo was its grand master he painted Mona Lisa as hidden symbol and dedication to the sacred feminine.

3. Some claim that the painter has derived the name of the painting from the names of Egyptian gods Amon and Isis. Amon is the Egyptian god of masculinity and Isis is the goddess of earth. Therefore, as the painting is the union of male and female, the name is the union of male and female as well.

4. Other references say that Mona is a contraction of "madonna" (meaning 'my lady' or 'madam'); Lisa is proven to be derived from Lisa del Giocondo. Mona Lisa is named for Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

The painting was commissioned for their new home and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. Historians say that Leonardo painted Mona Lisa in 1503 and he lingered over it for 4 years and completed it after. They say that where he used to go, carried his Mona Lisa along with himself.

So now armed with the background of the painting -- very vivid indeed.

Now leaving the first and the last story aside, we can say we have been robbed of the true concept of beauty of a woman.

If the chosen two stories are considered remotely true than, it feels sorry to say that we have been beating around the bush to find the true beauty in our significant other (female).

Relating it to our debate, the question arises... Who promoted the painting? Alternatively, who advertised it as the true beauty of a woman?

Answer!

Leonardo himself had the biggest hand in creating the hype about his portrait for popularity purposes, what so ever they might be at that time.

So, now let us ask if the stories are true and the portrait is really of a man dressed up as a drag queen, than being a marketer what can be more un ethical than asking people to only believe in what is not true.

Asking people to base their ideology on what are entirely fake standards... where is the ethics in that.

Who is to ask the question now that a painting, which has set the global standards of beauty, and painting bearing a smile parallel or comparable to nothing -- as said?

Why rob us of our own idea of beauty, why enforce standards on us that are only true to the standards of a single individual have totally different and unacceptable priorities.

Well this is advertising 101.

You have to sell your concept and position your brand in the mind of individuals that they make your product the standard to compare things with.

So what, if in the mentioned saga it was all un-true.

No bars in what’s ethical or not as long as the idea is sold.

However, from a viewpoint of a common individual it was not something fair it was an advertisement promoted and sparked by personal bias... In addition, what is bamboozling at this point is to give kudos to the genius behind the promotion, who sold a very wrong idea very successfully. On the other hand, to sit with a grim on the face and curse the man for making us -- the straight men -- miss out on the undiscovered beauties of the world.

Whatever you choose to do… Do it with an understanding that when it comes to product promotion there are no limits to ethical or unethical -- at least in the capitalistic society that we live in.

The race is on to sell your product by any means necessary, a society in which moral values and ethics take a back seat you can expect many more Mona Lisa's on the way or better yet many are around us waiting to be discovered.

Who is to put a check on this all? Who is to highlight the customer values... maybe one of us?

If decide for once that money is important but earning it at the expense of defrauding someone or robbing someone his ideology of something is by far not acceptable.

However, what may have triggered Lenardo centuries back may still be around to trigger our sin of greed.

It may not just be the monetary aspect of the things it can be more than that... you know vanity is also a sin -- although not considered by many.

Nevertheless, just to prove a point using your power to change views is an art not possessed by many so for those who do have it... please consider some ETHICS first.