Fact: Did you know that Aurora existed well before the launch of the magazine? Aurora first appeared on the scene in 1992 in the guise of the Aurora Awards for advertising excellence – the first-ever awards to honour the advertising profession. They were announced on December 16, 1992, at Baleji Beach in Karachi. A scintillating event that gathered the heads of the marketing and advertising professions and their best and brightest creative minds. Aurora, the magazine, was launched in July 1998. Nine years later, on March 17, 2007, the second Aurora Awards were held, at the Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi.

The Aurora Awards were a milestone for a young industry. They were a recognition of the role advertising plays in shaping society and encouraging choice at a time when Pakistan’s communications industry was preparing to engage with global advertising agencies, and an acknowledgement that the profession had come of age. Whereas in 1992, advertising was still about selling products, by 2007, it was about brand equity, brand communication and consumer engagement. The media had fragmented, going from public owned TV channels, to a plethora of privately owned ones and FM radio stations. At the same time, ‘new media’ as digital was then referred to as, was beginning to make brands rethink their communication approaches. Advertising had become a recognised career based on defined skill sets, rather than a default choice when other marketing avenues failed to materialise.

The 2007 Aurora Awards were presented in three categories: Aurora Boreas for FMCGs; Aurora Zephyr for Durables and Services and Aurora Eurus for Social Marketing and Community Service. Each category was sub-divided in Best Advertisement in Print and OOH; Best Advertisement on TV, Radio and Multiple Media Campaigns – plus Honourable Mentions across all three categories. Over 600 entries were received. Adcom (later Adcom Leo-Burnett) emerged as the big winners of the event, sweeping up seven awards, followed by Interflow Communications with four, Orient McCann Erickson with two, and Spectrum Communications, Manhattan International, 5th Element and Head Lion with one each.

Ten Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented, honouring the founding fathers of Pakistan’s ad profession. They went to S.M. Akhlaq (posthumous) Founder, Adcom; Chaudhary Abdul Ghafour (posthumous), Chairman, Adarts; Naseer Haider (posthumous) Chairman & CEO IAL Saatchi & Saatchi; S.H. Hashmi (posthumous) Founder, Orient Advertising; Sultan Mahmud (posthumous), Founder, United Advertisers; Bashir Mirza (posthumous), Founder, Atelier BM; Framroze H. Punthakey (posthumous), Partner Asiatic Advertiser (now JWT); C.A. Rauf (posthumous) Founder, R-Lintas (now MullenLowe Rauf); S.M. Shahid, Founder, Oscar Advertising, and Rashid Umar Thanvi (posthumous) Founder, MAC Advertising.

Presentation night mirrored the glamour and glitz that defined advertising in those days. The red carpet was rolled out as celebrities from the worlds of advertising, corporate communications, fashion and the arts arrived for an evening hosted by Ayeshah Alam and Leon Menezes. A carefully curated menu for a sit-down as well as a buffet dinner was served, consisting of delicacies from Sindhi cuisine. Adding to the glamour of the occasion was a musical segment consisting of Akhtar Chenaal Zehri, Dhamali Allan Fakir and Naseebo Lal – topped by Abida Parveen.

It was The Night of the Auroras.

From Aurora’s Archives

INTERVIEW
S. H. Hashmi, Founder, Orient

PROFILE
The ‘Yes We Can’ Agency: Interflow Communications in profile

ARTICLES
Aurora Scintillates, Adcom Sweeps – Fouzia Mapara