• THE SUNFLOWER KING
• CHAUDHRY ABDUL GHAFOUR (1936-2006)

THE SUNFLOWER KING

CHAUDHRY ABDUL GHAFOUR (1936-2006)

Chaudhry Abdul Ghafour was called Ghafour Bhai by many people in the industry and referred to as Baba-e-Ishtehari – the founder of advertising – due to the fact that he established Paktisers, an advertising agency, in the early days of Pakistan’s existence.

In 1950, C.A. Ghafour’s agency merged with International Advertisers, which was then headed by Sultan Mahmud and United Advertisers came into being. The partnership between the two men was a purely verbal one and no legal document was signed. The partnership endured for twenty years and in 1970, the two men parted ways on amiable terms, when C.A. Ghafour acquired Adarts, an agency specialising in outdoor communications at the time.

Under C.A. Ghafour’s leadership, Adarts became a leading agency of its time and due to his expertise, many clients from United Advertisers moved to Adarts, including Rooh Afza, Tibet Snow and Mayfair confectionaries. Adarts made the first TV commercial for the latter and to date, the brand remains a market leader. The people who worked with him during the sixties and seventies included well-known artists Jamil Naqsh and Sardar Muhammad, who worked there as art directors, as well as his son-in-law Gulzar Ali, now the Chairman of the agency.

C.A. Ghafour wrote articles for several publications and was an accomplished broadcaster and telecaster. He served as President of the Pakistan Advertising Association for two years and secretary, for three. He represented the Association on the Central Advisory Committee for PTV in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for a number of years. He was interested in agriculture; in fact, he had a particular love of sunflowers which he grew in profusion on his farm at Gharo. He used to spend many weekends there, often with his advertising friends. He presided over the Anjuman Kashtkaran (Kotri Barrage), an association devoted to the welfare of farmers in the area for many years.

Due to his principles, C.A. Ghafour was looked up to by many people in the industry. The late S.H. Hashmi, who founded Orient Advertising, stated in an article in Aurora following his death in 2006: “I was extremely fortunate to have Chaudhry Ghafour as a friend and mentor. He was indeed like a role model for me – a person I revered and looked up to. He was not only ahead of me in terms of years of experience in advertising, but he was a man of tremendous intellect and insight. My affection for him grew with every passing day.”

The late Akbar Ali, MD, Mass Advertising, added: “I knew him to be a man of his word and a magnificent person at heart. His love for his work rivalled his love for his every breath. Although he is no longer among us, he will always continue to live in our hearts.”

Compiled by Mamun M. Adil.