A Few of my Favourite Things

Amazon – Alexa Loses Her Voice

Agency: Lucky Generals, LondonOne of the top viewed ads on YouTube for 2022with over 50 million views, ‘Alexa Loses Her Voice’promotes Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa. The videodepicts a concerned Jeff Bezos being reassured atthe Amazon HQ that the situation is under control andstand-ins are ready to replace Alexa. However, thestar-studded stand-ins, which include Gordon Ramsay,Cardi B, Rebel Wilson and Sir Anthony Hopkins failhilariously to replace Alexa. The ad is clever and usesstar power brilliantly to drive home the point.

OLX – No Khwari, No Lara, OLX Pe Ao Na Yara!

Agency: In-houseA fun campaign that strikes all the right chords, showcasing‘No Khwari, No Lara,OLX Pe Ao Na Yara’. The campaign taps into thelives of a young couple brilliantly played by Sanam Saeed and FawadKhan. A series of humorous situations that end up with OLX as beingthe right answer to all their troubles makes for memorable and engagingadvertising. A punchy script, great direction and a catchy soundtrack.The campaign makes us laugh, builds affinity and resonates with thetarget audience. With all the doom and gloom surrounding us, this ishumour done right. Would love to see more of the same.

Lifebuoy & Ministry of Human Rights Partnership –

Tum Mazboot Ho
Agency: Ogilvy Pakistan & the European Union (funded by theHuqooq-e-Pakistan Project)This is a campaign close to my heart whereby we were successfulin building a partnership between Lifebuoy and the Ministry ofHuman Rights to inspire women to raise stronger daughters andfight domestic violence. The campaign not only raised awarenessabout domestic violence, it also created awareness about theMinistry of Human Rights’ free, nationwide helpline ‘1099’ forhelp against domestic abuse. The campaign is a testament to theimportance of partnerships between business and government tocreate true change.

Nike – Dream Crazier

Agency: Weiden + KennedyThe ‘Dream Crazier’ campaign, saluting women athletes andnarrated by Serena Williams is one of my all-time favourites.There was no better choice than Serena, who, despite beingthe top-ranking tennis athlete in the world, faced an immensebacklash because of her argument with the umpire; somethingthat male tennis athletes have got away with since forever.The ad cuts to the heart of the double standards women haveto battle to succeed. The campaign also demonstrates whatthe Nike brand stands for. “A woman running a marathon wascrazy. A woman boxing was crazy. A woman dunking? Crazy.Coaching an NBA team? Crazy. A woman competing in ahijab, changing her sport, landing a Double Cork 1080, orwinning 23 Grand Slams, having a baby, and coming back formore? Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. And Crazy. So if they wantto call you crazy? Fine. Show them what crazy can do.” It’sonly crazy until you do it. Just do it.

Bank AL Habib – AL Habib Woman

Agency: Bond AdvertisingPakistan stands at the low end of the financialinclusion spectrum with an extremely widegender gap. Only 13% of women hold bankaccounts. The AL Habib Woman campaign is amuch-needed push for gender inclusion in thefinancial world. AL Habib Woman is a testamentto the strength and resilience of women. Thecampaign showcases women from diversebackgrounds linking banking to empowermentand financial security. Syra Yousuf, a strong,empowered woman, ticks all the boxes as thebrand ambassador. By breaking stereotypes,the campaign promotes a more inclusive andempowering future for women in Pakistan. And Iam all for that!

Spotify – Only You

Agency: In-houseI am a real fan of Spotify and their ability to demonstratehow every one of their 356 million listeners is unique anddistinctive. Their campaign ‘Only You’ does just that throughdata-driven creatives that hone in on the unique traits andidiosyncrasies that define Spotify listeners. Spotify continuesto give us more of what we want by focusing on the individual.The power of personalisation.

EBM: Schoolgirl Newscasters

Agency: BBDO PakistanEBM’s campaign for girls’ education ‘SchoolgirlNewscasters’ resonated deeply with me. To see younggirls who could barely read or write three years ago asconfident, articulate newscasters on mainstream newschannels was not only heart-warming, it drove homethe point of how important it is to push the agenda forgirls’ education. In a country where the literacy rate forgirls lags woefully behind their male counterparts, thecampaign was an important advocate, highlighting thiscritical issue and changing the narrative

Coke Studio – Season 14

Agency: In-houseCoke Studio, the music platform we have all grown to love, is agreat example of how the brand has integrated music as part of itsDNA and embedded itself into pop culture with an appeal that cutsacross gender, age, socio economic and language barriers. Aftermultiple seasons one would have thought that things may get alittle boring, but Coke Studio Season 14 knocked it right out of thepark. From Pasoori to Peechay Hut, from Thagaya to Tu Jhoom,Coke Studio had the nation and beyond swaying to its beat. I forone am singing their tune.

Seema Jaffer is CEO and Creative Director, Bond Advertising. seema@bondadvertising.com