My day starts when yours is ending, but we are connected to the second, with only a 12-hour time difference. Yet, that seems like worlds apart – and we are apart in many aspects, advertising being one of them. After years as a creative director in Pakistan, I relocated to the US nine months ago, and we know what can happen in that time. Yes, astronauts experience profound transformations in their vision, changes in muscle flexibility and bone density, and isolation and confinement in space can impact their mental and cognitive behaviours. I feel this sometimes, far away from the madding world of an ad agency in Pakistan. But it also feels like I have this vantage point. To look at the advertising back home from space – a bird’s eye view if you will – and evaluate how the communication is so different.

Should I compare? Should I dare?

Each country has its advertising nuances. Both are exciting, with their share of highs and lows and pros and cons. Yet, the contrast in creative approaches is both enlightening and thought-provoking. On many occasions, I feel like Pakistani advertising has moved on from the tried and tested, good old, maybe even ‘fun’ ways of doing advertising.

Let Me Entertain You
The lyrics of Freddie Mercury ring true in the way most American brands approach their advertising, especially on TV and streaming services. They know that ads interrupt the viewer’s purpose when switching on the TV – so they work hard to make sure these pauses are enjoyable and engaging. While we are always trying to ‘challenge’ the brief, this part of the equation does not even figure.

One would think that brand mascots are so done, but not here, they are not. A plethora of brand symbols have been around for decades, and newer ones keep popping up. Some have become cultural icons. The Insta-Cart spot for Super Bowl 2025 featured classics like The Kool-Aid Man, the Energizer Bunnies, Heinz’s Wiener Dogs (an army of them), Cheetos’ Cheetah, the Green Giant and a whole lot of others. Super Bowl commercials are much anticipated (even in Pakistan) because they epitomise this entertainment centric approach. Brands invest heavily in producing believable ads that are humorous, star-studded and even nostalgic.

In Pakistan, advertising (read advertisers) is often treated like a public service announcement garbed in brand colours. As ad professionals, we almost make it our right to correct our ways with preachiness, metaphors, dramatic narration, ‘epic’ shots, and moral overtones… whether it’s a bank reminding you of your duty to your family or a telco urging you to dream big, or a detergent convincing you that you can change Pakistan and wash it clean. The tone is preachy, emotional and heavy. It’s a copywriter’s handbook summarised in a four-page script. In the US, it is different. The ad is not the thing in your way. It makes itself worth the interruption. It is funny, odd, charming and probably has the same actors as the show you are watching. It is self-deprecating, sometimes even absurd. The underlying pressure is to entertain. To keep you from ‘skipping’ . The ads are not teaching and preaching or providing moral lessons. They are not here to evaluate you. They want you to lighten up, to make you laugh, smirk and hope that you associate them with the brand. It’s a single-minded approach, not the brand team’s boardroom checklist, before the pre-production meeting.

Let Me Show You
What do ads really show you? One of the most noticeable differences is that American advertising reflects real life, specifically American life. Fast food, medicines, insurance, dental plans, dealerships, homemakers, lawyers, home improvements, car dealerships and more cars, bodywashes, body creams, deodorants, DMV and Medicare options – to name a few. Life revolves around these, and so does advertising. There is a constant pulse of practical daily life content. You will see ads for The Home Depot and Lowe’s showing couples building something big in their backyard. You will see car ads highlighting zero-interest financing rather than performance. And, of course, you can’t watch a football game without 10 different fast food joints pushing their burgers, pizzas, fried chicken and sandwiches. In comparison, Pakistan’s advertising ecosystem is dominated by banks, tea and telco brands jostling for attention with spots that promise empowerment, dreams and connectivity beyond borders, aspirations that lure the common man into thinking he’s not a working-class hero in his own right.

Let Me Please You
When you please everyone, you please no one. Cliché? So are one size-fits-all ads. US campaigns are sharply targeted, running different versions for different audiences. In Pakistan, we are still going mass. One version for all… and usually with a moral lesson. I know it’s partly due to media limitations, but also partly habit and partly the fact that our audience has a weaker purchasing power, so advertisers play it safe. Also, in Pakistan, despite the rise of digital, TV remains king, and mass market messaging still carries weight.

Let Me Digitise You
You might expect the US to be ahead in digital advertising, and that may be true in terms of tools and scale, but not always in creativity. It is very functional, targeted, retargeted, text-heavy and transactional. On the other hand, some of the best visual storytelling is emerging from Asian markets and yes, Pakistan. Remember the SIUT and Zameen ads?

Let Me Cast You
Fawad Khan was featured in ads for Zameen, Lux, Tuc, Aquafina and this and that. In the US, casting is crucial and current. You will see faces from whatever is trending – Netflix stars and AppleTV+‘s superstars, athletes and stand-up comedians, aligned with the now. In Pakistan, we cling to the familiar face. Humsafar made Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan not just sweethearts in every household, but ad darlings who stayed that way years after the series was aired. We never saw them coming together on TV except in ads. Advertising made them superstars, not vice versa. Why? Because we don’t take risks, we rarely bet on the unknown. I remember rooting for Abdullah Ejaz, then a complete unknown, for a Ufone postpaid campaign. It worked. He became a sought after model, but not every client or creative is willing to make that call. We recycle the same five faces until they become visual wallpaper.

Let Me Tell You
Having worked with brands like L’Oréal, KFC, Suzuki, Lay’s, PSO and Zong, I can tell you that Pakistani creatives are incredibly resourceful. Unexpectedly creative and unashamedly vocal. We know how to do more with less, we have a strong emotional palette, and we understand storytelling. Yet, we often shy away from humour, from imperfection, from simplicity. Is that something we can borrow from here? The risk of not putting too much science behind an idea, of going with a gut feeling and the willingness to not try too hard. Of enjoying what we do. Of not trying to teach the world to sing. Let me tell you, after seeing how much fun advertising can be here, maybe it’s time to loosen our collars and not stand on the pulpit carrying the burden of a ‘deeper’ meaning in every copy, caption, script and message. And yes, American advertisers could learn a thing or two from our depth, from our ability to create culturally rich, resonant stories. Some of our narratives have heart and the power to stay with us.

Let Me Close On A Good Note
I believe advertising is a mirror into society, into what is happening, into life. In this case, both mirrors show different things. One shows you a culture obsessed with commercialism, utility and humour, the other with values and dreams. And neither is right or wrong. And in this age of content, there is space to intertwine the two.

As I continue this new chapter in advertising, I carry the lessons, the passion and the knowledge of a past life in Pakistan. It has been said that “advertising is the most fun one can have with one’s clothes on.” I would like to believe this is still true. Sometimes the best way to be remembered is to simply be fun.

Oswald Lucas has spent over four decades in Pakistan’s advertising industry. oswaldlucas@gmail.com