Hits and Misses 2023

1 Cadbury Dairy Milk – #GetintheGame Cricket World Cup 2023

At a time when brands are jumping on the Cricket World Cup bandwagon and you see the men’s national cricket team plastered across every major campaign, it was great to see Cadbury supporting women’s cricket and highlighting the contribution of Bismah Maroof, the Pakistan women’s cricket team captain. Women face innumerable challenges to be able to play any sport in Pakistan, including a lack of support and resources and they need role models like Maroof and brands like Cadbury to support them. We need more brands to step up. Adding the names of the women’s cricket team to the packaging further drove home the point. Well done Cadbury for stepping into this space.

Agency: Ogilvy Pakistan
Verdict: Hit. Cadbury knocked it out of the park.

2 Sultan Banaspati & Cooking Oil – Celebrating 60 years

Brilliant insight and beautifully nuanced. When parents age, we start to treat them with kid gloves, thinking that this is the best way to look after them. We forget that they were once a force unto themselves. We do not realise that we are unintentionally robbing them of their independence and sense of self-worth. This ad communicated the message beautifully by weaving in the mother-daughter relationship and tying it with the brand promise. The vocals of a Sufiyana kalam “Mali da kam pani dena bhar bhar mashkan pawy” by Mian Muhammad Baksh further enhances the emotional impact of the ad. A real tear-jerker.

Agency: Conglo
Verdict: Hit. Touched all the right chords

3 Changan Oshan X7 – Watch me move

Talk about objectification. The entire ad reeks of it. A vehicle marketed so blatantly to men based on making women the object of their fantasy. Companies need to realise that ads like these degrade women. A woman sprawled across the car. Really? I think this points to the larger issue of the objectification of women in advertising that needs to be addressed on an industry-wide level. Sensitising advertisers, ad agencies and production teams is key in this regard. There also needs to be a crackdown on ads that are discriminatory.

Agency: Ishtehari
Verdict: Miss. A complete red flag.

4 EBM – Schoolgirl Newscasters

Witnessing young girls who, just three years ago, struggled with basic reading and writing, now exuding confidence and eloquence as news anchors on prominent television networks, left a lasting impression. This powerful campaign not only resonated with me, it underscored the critical need to champion girls’ education. In a nation where female literacy rates significantly trail behind their male peers, this initiative emerged as a vital catalyst in shifting the narrative. Well done EBM.

Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai and BBDO Pakistan
Verdict: Hit. Creativity that makes a difference.

5 Golden Pearl – White Beauty Cream

Do we really need to reinforce the gori complexion complex by shaming others? This ad was in bad taste and offensive in its connotation. Telling ‘boys’ that their partner is not attractive/good enough because she doesn’t have a glowing, bright, white complexion. Really? About time we stand up to the inherent prejudice that skin whitening creams promote.

Agency: BDigital
Verdict: Miss. The prejudice is more than skin deep.

6 Dove Pakistan – OOH Weather Ads

Dove used tech and media to creatively deliver real-time messages adapted to local weather conditions. The billboards responded to weather changes and how they affect our hair. We all know the agony of bad hair days thanks to the humidity, rain, too dry, too hot factor… I can go on. The billboards were responsive and very personalised. Love how technology is used to communicate a great insight in a creative and engaging way.

Agency: Ishtehari and Kinetic Pakistan
Verdict: Hit. Tech meets creativity. Bingo.

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