Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Muniya, couple of thousand rupees? situation is much worse then that ... I am not kidding , I highly doubt these guys got paid at all in the first place .. and even if they did , it wouldnt be more then a 100 or 200 Rs ...
Sometime back there was this advert being done by someone I know .. they were directing and producing that advertisement for a large real estate group .. even the advertisement agency is a well known Pakistani name ... they showed a few labourers carrying out the building work .. guess what? not a single penny paid to them .. their wage : they will be seen on TV and a bit of food distributed amongst the labourers !!!!!
that advert would have been sold in thousands of Rupees to the client who inturn would be making millions out of it and all that the labourers get for their appearance in the making of the advert was some food for the day ! .. Its a joke I tell you .. there is no law for the rich !
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Isn't it time to change the laws then and enforce payment of taxes and enforce payment of wages (at least set a minimum wage) like they do in the West?
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Mehnaz absolutely there is a very strong need for solid laws in that country. And that is why I am so proud of the people who denounced this advert by SS coz as people we cant make laws but we can make our voices heard so strongly that these vultures at least get some reign in rather then having a non contested playground to do what ever they like !
At the risk of just repeating what was written in the article. What are we denouncing and how are we denouncing it? Is it a single ad campaign and the insensitive reality it depicts? Guess what - complaining about the ad campaign doesn’t change the ground level realities of disparity between the haves and have nots in Pakistan.
Do we stop buying Sana Safinaz lawn? Sure - why not. The prints weren’t that great any how. Nishat Lawn or Gul Ahmed or Junaid Jamshed - their lawns look so much better this year - but oh wait, they source their cotton the same way that Sana Safinaz does which helps to maintain that very disparity reflected in the ad campaigns. So why aren’t we saying anything about them?
And why are only the elite class being denounced, anyone supporting the lawn industry and the cotton manafacturers - the middle class that’s trying to keep up with the Joneses are just as complicit in perpetuating this cycle.
So what now, stop buying lawn fabrics altogether? Sure that’s really going to help the cotton pickers so that even their day wages are stopped.
I wholeheartedly agree with the article - don’t just complain about an insensitive ad campaign, complain and do something meaningful about the plight of the poor.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Muniya, couple of thousand rupees? situation is much worse then that ... I am not kidding , I highly doubt these guys got paid at all in the first place .. and even if they did , it wouldnt be more then a 100 or 200 Rs ...
Sometime back there was this advert being done by someone I know .. they were directing and producing that advertisement for a large real estate group .. even the advertisement agency is a well known Pakistani name ... they showed a few labourers carrying out the building work .. guess what? not a single penny paid to them .. their wage : they will be seen on TV and a bit of food distributed amongst the labourers !!!!!
that advert would have been sold in thousands of Rupees to the client who inturn would be making millions out of it and all that the labourers get for their appearance in the making of the advert was some food for the day ! .. Its a joke I tell you .. there is no law for the rich !
No one does anything for free nodays, I bet they were paid, rich people in Pak are not that cruel.
Well if not paid, they got attention in this ad. Would any normal hard working person will be happy to see his face on an ad for once.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
This is what I was thinking. This ad just brings an everyday reality to your doorstep. You can't ignore it.
I actually liked the video commercial ....
**There are no standards or guidelines in Pakistan when it comes to media and advertising. **Sure, they would be sued in the West, but nothing will happen in Pakistan. The fashion designers in the photo above should be sued for using the LV and Ralph Lauren trademark images, but I doubt anything will happen.
Thats exactly why this media outrage should be acknowledged and encouraged, no? Why can't Pakistani have the same media standards as big mighty West? The media laws we have in the West weren't made overnight and did not come out of nothing. Believe it or not, it was a long struggle and it took countless public outrages, decades, debates, discussions, education to achieve the level of political correctness and media standards that exist in the Western countries today. So we Pakistanis have to start somewhere, I for one find it so refershing to a Pakistani ad being scrutinized for are all the right reasons.
Exactly what some folks are trying to achieve by applying 'yeah its reality, move on' rhetoric? I think we all know its reality but what is point behind saying that? There are million of other negetive things that are also reality in Pakistan...should we also dismiss them, ignore em and move on?
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
I'm sorry but what do you mean by "make them look a little better"? Should they have used a gora chitta model posing as a coolie instead of the dark skinned ones you see in the ad? It's not like they're wearing dirty torn clothes so I don't see what else should have been touched up by the ad makers to make them look better?
Uh I don't recall saying ANYTHING about colour... Especially since I'm a darker skinned Pakistani I could give a rat's behind about how dark someone is... If anything I prefer a darker skinned model than lighter skinned.
Maybe I could have explained it better but what I meant by making them look better - is yes, maybe using models (not gora), or letting them smile instead of them looking sad/miserable in the background. Maybe dress them up in clothes that don't look like jailhouse clothing (yes, that's what it looks like to me as I've never travelled on rail in Pakistan so I'm not sure what they look like).
I dunno the whole ad rubs me the wrong way. It's fueling the notion that rich people are better than the poor and the rich know it.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Thats exactly why this media outrage should be acknowledge and encouraged, no? The media laws we have in the West weren't made overnight and that too out of nothing. Believe it or not, it was a long struggle and it took countless public outrages, debates, discussions, education to achieve the level of political correctness and media standards that exist in the Western countries. So we Pakistanis have to start somewhere, i for one find it so refershing to a Pakistani ad being scrutinized for are **all the right reasons...
Exactly what folks are trying to achieve by applying yeah its reality we move on rhetoric? I think we all know its reality but what exactly is point here? There are million of other negetive things that are also reality in Pakistan...should we also dismiss them and move on?**
I'm curious to hear what you think those right reasons are? Is it media standards and use of trademarks in media or politically insensitive ads or is it advocating for the the plight of the downtrodden?
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
I'm curious to hear what you think those right reasons are? Is it media standards and use of trademarks in media or politically insensitive ads or is it advocating for the the plight of the downtrodden?
All of them perhaps, plus the fact that clothes don't stand out at all, but I like this reason for having a good laught at SS and their so called marketing board (if that exists in any way or form).
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Jolie, what efforts are the people who live and reside in Pakistan making to establish clear guidelines when it comes to media and advertising? I sincerely do not know, so if you are aware, please share it.
The current state of Pakistan's media has been discussed on the BBC for at least the past 4 years yet nothing has come of it. The world is certainly aware that anything goes when it comes to Pakistan's media, yet what progress has been made? Has any? If no, then why not?
It's easy for us to sit and comment, but we don't live there. I really want to know if the average Pakistani sitting in Lahore/Karachi will stop and think when they see this ad. Will they be offended or will they be indifferent because they are so used to the class distinction?
I have no idea.
Then we need to ask a deeper question, what is the state of Pakistan's moral conscience at the moment? Has it been shattered enough to actually make the average people in the cities want to make a change. Will the government listen?
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Jolie, what efforts are the people who live and reside in Pakistan making to establish clear guidelines when it comes to media and advertising? I sincerely do not know, so if you are aware, please share it.
The current state of Pakistan's media has been discussed on the BBC for at least the past 4 years yet nothing has come of it. The world is certainly aware that anything goes when it comes to Pakistan's media, yet what progress has been made? Has any? If no, then why not?
It's easy for us to sit and comment, but we don't live there. I really want to know if the average Pakistani sitting in Lahore/Karachi will stop and think when they see this ad. Will they be offended or will they be indifferent because they are so used to the class distinction?
I have no idea.
Then we need to ask a deeper question, what is the state of Pakistan's moral conscience at the moment?
Rome wasn't built in a day!
Please don't use this "easy to sit and comment" rhetoric, it makes not sense whatsoever in this day and age. You simply cannot underestimate the importance of social media and internet in general, its literally shaping the world we live in today and how we go on with our life. I hope you all watch news every once in a while news and know a thing or two about the Arab revolution, because internet and social media is the best way of spreading information and evoking interest to the point of turning into a storm of passion A small internet protest and publicity goes a long long way...even the designers know that.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
Some of you should really let go of either this way or high way mentality. Stop jumping from one extreme to another and stop expecting exteme results. Is there some kind of rule that only revolutionaries and saints must have the right to speak against something? BBC would've been done and dusted decades ago if every registered complaint meant an official boycott from the viewer, but guess what BBC has improved and continue to improve thanks to the masisve public awareness and criticism. I mean just because people aren't happy with couple of ads from SS, does not mean that they must boycott the brand to make their point look relevent.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
I'm sorry but what do you mean by "make them look a little better"? Should they have used a gora chitta model posing as a coolie instead of the dark skinned ones you see in the ad? It's not like they're wearing dirty torn clothes so I don't see what else should have been touched up by the ad makers to make them look better?
And why shy away from the reality? The reality that such a stark contrast does exist between the rich and the poor in the continent. Have we never used the services of a porter like the woman in the ad? Don't we employ maids and servants? Don't we have a bulk of the society still living in "jhuggis"? Why portray a fairy tale'ish image of the society when in fact it is far from it?
This uproar reminds me of some of the critics' comments about Slumdog Millionaire... they complained that a very dark image of India had been portrayed... and people like Amitabh made these comments while sitting in their mansions.... yeah guess what, a world exists outside of your palace ... poverty is extreme in countries like India and Pakistan... instead of trying to brush it under the carpet, do something about it... Instead of buying a 50,000 ka Sana Safinaz outfit, how many of us will give that money away to the needy? None of us perhaps. Fazool ka rona.
I don’t agree that it is fazool ka rona. Infact I am glad that people stopped and noticed the exploitation of poor in this ad campaign. Social change happens when you start noticing thing and don’t take them just business as usual.
If it was a social campaign or critical commentary I would have understand that purpose of the backdrop. But it is a freaking advertising of clothing that sell for more than what these porters make in months. Yes they must have gotten paid but how much?? May be couple of hundred and thats my wishful thinking. Now how much Neha was paid or how much is SS suites?
Point is using these porters as props for the campaign and finding yet another way to exploit them is in poor taste. I am glad that people are talking and it is a positive step.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
^ See, that is where differences in opinion exist. To me, using a porter's services is hardly equal to the exploitation of the poor especially if they got paid. All I see are speculations in this thread... they got paid a couple of thousands, no they got paid a couple of hundred, no they didn't get paid at all... why don't we get our facts right first before forming an opinion?
Anyway, if any good comes out of this controversy, I say hor rola pao. But I am pretty certain everyone is going to forget about this within the next few days. I do hope I am proven wrong.
Re: Sana Safinaz Controversial new ad campaign -- What do you think?
If we go by the porters words, they were paid 600 rupees per day and the shoot lasted two days. They did not know it was an ad campaign, they thought its a film or something.