Campaign Watch
Rameen Fasih reviews the latest campaigns.
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Campaign Watch
If 2025’s Ad Land had a mood board, it would be meme, mic drop and meaning. Muzz dragged every “ghar walay nahi maanay” guy and left him on read. Kenwood’s father-in-law’s roast became an AC flex. And The Nerve!’s barbed jewellery PSA cut deep without a word. Conglo threw Talha and Shaheen into the meme blender and hit viral. BBDO? They sold a bank with cat reels and a wink.
Brand: Muzz
Campaign: #NiyyatSaafHai
Message: When “Gharwalay nahi maanay”becomes the nationalbreakup line, switchto Muzz
Effectiveness: Wehave all been there,sitting across from a guywho was all “you’re theone” until he suddenly remembered he’s got a strict ami and a cousin he is “sortof promised to.” Muzz’s latest ad takes that painfully relatable moment and spins itinto a no-holds-barred takedown of commitment phobia. Add to that the amazingprotagonists whose untimely wails make us all go “damn girl, we feel you!”
Verdict: Muzz nails it. A savage, spot-on campaign that finally says what every girlhas been texting on the group chat.
Brand: Zero Lifestyle
Campaign: Rethinking Possibilities – ZeroLifestyle Regal Smartwatch
Message: When Mr Most Streamed meetsPakistan’s premium fast bowler, virality isn’t aquestion, it’s a guarantee.
Effectiveness: This is what we (Conglo) do whatwe do best – taking two unexpected worlds andcolliding them with the right amount of cheek.The “Kaun Talha?” hook is a masterstroke,drawing audiences in with playful banter. Whatcould have been a standard crossover morphsinto a meme fest – with Shaheen owning the‘premium fast bowler’ bit so hard it spills overinto social feeds. The smartwatch may be theproduct, but the real winner here is the art ofnailing a viral moment without forcing it.
Verdict: Clever, calculated and undeniablyConglo. This is how you break the internetwithout even trying.
Brand: Kenwood
Campaign: Smart TohHongay Hi
Message: When a son-inlaw meets a father-in-law,someone’s bound to breaka sweat.
Effectiveness: So, here isa dynamic we rarely see.The father-in-law vs sonin-law power play. BehrozeSabzwari is the classic desidad who has seen it all andhas a roast for every occasion. He zeroes in on Tabish Hashmi’s so-called ‘big job inJapan’ with a line that cuts deep, “pata wata hai nahi, Japan ja rahe hain.” Ouch. Butjust when you think Tabish is down for the count, he flips the script. Instead of playingdefence, he goes full nerd, rattling off Kenwood AC specs with the confidence of aguy who has just watched 12 hours of appliance infomercials. The result? A fumblingMr Know-It-All trumped by a damad who plays it out of the park.
Verdict: Sharp, funny and the kind of family banter we rarely see in ads. Arey Wahplayed it cooler than Kenwood’s T3 on this one!
Brand: Centre for Human Rights (CFHR)
Campaign: Kaante Na Lagao
Message: A quietbut piercing call torethink what wecall ‘security.’
Effectiveness:This communicationcarries a hauntingweight – from theimagery of a bridebound in barbedjewellery to the palpable absence of Ibrahim Baloch in every frame. Fahad Hussayn andthe Centre for Human Rights turn bridal finery into a prison, a symbol of the agency thatis denied through nikahnama crosses. And The Nerve! led by women who know theunspoken boundaries all too well, this communication delivers a silent gut-punch withprecision and power.
Verdict: Unflinching and gut-wrenching, ‘*Kaante Na Lagao’* flips the script, shedding lighton how women are stripped of their agency every day.
Brand: Easypaisa
Campaign: Easy Wala Bank
Message: Don’t like ads? Cool. Here’s a catreel instead.
Effectiveness: This is BBDO flipping the script,taking the ‘ads suck’ sentiment and running withit. Instead of shoving a bank pitch down yourthroat, they serve up cat reels, travel montagesand celeb clips – the stuff you actually watch.And just when you are about to scroll past, theyhit you with the hook: “You hate ads, we hatecomplicated banking. That’s why Easypaisa isnow the Easy wala bank.” It’s clever, it’s casual,and it’s exactly the kind of anti-ad that makesyou stop and listen.
Verdict: This is how you reintroduce abrand without the usual chest-thumping. BBDOkeeps it playful and light and nails the art of
the soft sell.
Emen Iftikhar Kiani is Chief Creative, Conglo.emen@conglolife.com
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