Issues for Nov-Dec 2024

Talking Heads 2024 - Agency Heads

Aurora polls Pakistan’s agency heads.

Dodging the Algorithm

Riffat Rashid discusses the content, formats and platforms that dominated 2024.

AI at Your Service

Fauzia Kerai Khan discusses how AI is redefining customisation in marketing.

AI Is Dead. Long Live AI.

AI means more than what you think, says Faraz Maqsood Hamidi.

Faster, Smarter and More Personal

Noaman Asar discusses how AI will transform our lives as consumers.

AI Is on an Energy Bender

Patrick Collister asks ChatGPT to comment on the escalating environmental costs of digital technology.

Time to Get Bored

To up their creative results, ad agencies and clients need to foster a culture of boredom, argues Umair Saeed.

Talking Heads 2024 – Corporate Heads

Aurora polls Pakistan’s corporate heads.

HI Versus AI

Is AI capable of generating the kind of iconic ad campaigns produced by human intelligence? Zohra Yusuf poses the question.

“Pakistan may be a developing country, but there is significant wealth within its population”

Zaeem ul Haque, Director Operations, Dewan Motors, speaks to Fatima S. Attarwala about marketing a luxury car in times of economic uncertainty.

“Rooh Afza is not just a product; it represents the broader mission of Hamdard, which goes beyond commercial interests”

Hamza Jafri, Head of Marketing, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan, speaks to Uzma Khateeb-Nawaz about Hamdard Pakistan’s journey since 1948 and the extension of its brand portfolio.

“Once our video infrastructure is on-chain, creators and audiences will have ownership of content, making it impossible for any single entity to remove or control that content”

Alifya Sohail speaks to Umair Masoom, Founder and MD, Myco, about the benefits Myco’s Web3 streaming platform will bring to audiences.

Owning the Right Moment, Not the Data

FMGCs need to refine their consumer touch-point strategies rather than rely on first-party data, argues Urooj Hussain.

From Telco to Techno

Pakistan’s telecom companies have no option but to diversify in their search for new revenue streams, writes Nasir Jamal.

The Pragmatic Subversive

Alifya Sohail profiles Fahad Bombaywala, ECD, M&C Saatchi Group.

Did Local Brands Seize the Boycott Opportunity?

Kashif Hafeez Siddiqui tracks the results of five surveys on the BDS Movement and concludes that without a commitment to invest, success can only be fleeting for local brands.

Seven Reasons Why AI Can Fail You

Khalid Naseem enumerates seven reasons why AI doesn’t cut it creatively.

“Very Taste Coming!”

Faizan Usmani decries the use and results of online translation apps.

Telling the Right Story

Sarah Siddiqui discusses the importance of effective storytelling.

Campaign Watch

Noreen Omer, Creative Director, IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, picks her favourite and not-so-favourite recent ad campaigns.

Meet the Listening Generation

Brands are misreading Gen Z, writes Nadeem F. Paracha.

How Creativity Can Change the World

Ad agencies need to reimagine their mission, writes Afzal Hussain.

Extinction or Resurgence?

Despite the disruptions of the last three decades, ad agencies have failed to reinvent themselves, argues Oswald Lucas.

A Few of Our Favourite Things

The Aurora team picks their favourite ads.

Bye, Bye Algorithm. Hello, Human Tastemaker

Algorithms are officially uncool. Human curation that reflects real preferences, opinions and discretion is where brands need to go, argues Sameer Ali.

Hits and Misses 2024

Seema Jaffer pronounces on the campaigns that warmed her heart and on those that left her stony.

“From mattresses and motorbike tyres to UPS batteries and home appliances, we aim to cater to the needs of a typical household”

Arif Lakhani, co-Founder, Qist Bazaar, speaks to Uzma Khateeb-Nawaz about the inception of Qist Bazaar, its instalment-based product purchasing model and marketing strategies.

Aurora Magazine

Promoting excellence in advertising

Nov - Dec 2024