The Perfect Switch

When I joined advertising, one of the first things I learnt about conceptualising was the K.I.S.S. rule: ‘Keep it Simple Stupid’. With time, I realised that the local and global campaigns I loved had the most straightforward (but not always the most obvious) insights. This made me appreciate a campaign I recently saw - Pakistan Cable's thematic TVC.

Conceptualised by Wakhra Studios, the TVC hit the bull’s eye and makes me wish I had thought of it myself. It begins with a smartphone being charged and suddenly running out of battery, and it caught my attention immediately. Then an oven stops working, a TV screen goes black in the middle of a football match (I’m not a football fan, but I know football fans would go crazy if this happened).

The concept is simple, yet it manages to break the clutter and stand its ground in the content jungle. In both conception and execution, it follows the K.I.S.S. rule. The sound effects are the natural sounds of different appliances malfunctioning and they resonate so well with an average consumer.

We have all experienced (and heard!) our appliances malfunction and make unpleasant, worrisome sounds. We remember the frustration when our cell phone chargers malfunction. I have personally had my Sony PlayStation 3 ruined because of electricity issues, and I remember my disappointment when I heard the sounds it made. This ad, directed by Saad Hashmi, is extremely relatable. At the end, it offers a solution by encouraging audiences to ‘Make The Switch’ (clever copy) to Pakistan Cables' switches.

This campaign stands out from most Pakistani advertising. In the age of Bolt and Phantom high-speed cameras, it is tempting to be inspired by and experiment with innovative film-making techniques, so much so that storytelling seems to have taken a backseat in most Pakistani advertising.

This commercial does not rely on Hollywood style executions, exceptional film-making techniques, nor is there a celebrity in it. It takes a few steps back and does what all communication campaigns should be doing: focusing on the insight. It is an example of how brands don’t necessarily have to rely on over-the-top execution styles; rather they should be putting their efforts on storytelling and a stronger brand connect with the story they are telling.

Muneeb Akram is an in-house creative at NDURE.