KARACHI: Advertising these days is as much about effective communication strategies and the timely recognition of the true value of creativity as it is about meeting the demands of an ever-growing consumer goods industry with its very own specific needs.
Growth within the advertising industry is directly proportional to the expansion of the consumer goods industry, and presently the most credible platform that recognises the mettle of these mad men of advertising and awards their diverse efforts is the annual PAS Awards, which is in its fourth year now.
Underlining the growth factor, it was announced during the opening speeches by PAS office-bearers Shabeeh A. Ikram (chairman) and Aly Mustansir (chairman, PAS Awards committee) that there has been a significant increase in the number of advertisers and agencies — which has almost doubled this year — leading to strong, relevant yet diverse content.
Some 200 entries were received for the 32 categories, while two new categories — Best Media Innovation and Best BTL Activation — were introduced as well at the star-studded gala awards function on Friday evening.
Besides these, two special awards were also announced for Campaign of the Year and Best Original Local Campaign. Qamar Abbas, executive director of PAS, was presented a shield as a token of appreciation at this point during the ceremony.
In his opening remarks, former advertising guru and information minister Javed Jabbar, termed his being there a “sobering experience” and as chairman of the PAS jury, complimented the society for its choice of jurors.
He further reflected on his role as chairman of the jury by underlining the devotion to detail and conceptual element and presentation along with the highest values of integrity and professionalism. “Advertising is a facet of inherent optimism and it signals some of the best and brightest talent Pakistan has to offer. At the same time, it promotes values and ethics that are so dear to all of us,” he added.
J. Walter Thompson aka JWT, Pakistan bagged the most awards in different categories, walking away with nothing less than six PAS trophies, the highest number bagged by any agency that evening.
These included: Advance Telecom-Nokia in Telecom Hardware, Vaseline in Cosmetics & Personal Care, Sunsilk-Unilever Pakistan Ltd in Haircare, Orient Electronics in Consumer Electronics, Olpers-New Design in Breakfast Food & Dairy, and Shell Rimula in Petroleum & Lubricants.
The winners in other categories were Pepsi Smash (agency: Walter Pakistan) in Beverages-Cold, Servis & Lawrencepur (Manhattan) in Textile & Fashion Accessories, Vim One Spoon Campaign-Unilever Pakistan (Lowe & Rauf) in Household Care & Furnishings.
Dawn-Preserving Traditions Spearheading Change (concept & direction by Dawn, designed by Creative Unit) in Media, BBDO Pakistan-Work that Works for All in Corporate Social Responsibility, Bank Al Habib-Itna Khayal to Koi Apna hi Rakh Sakta Hai (Bond Advertising) in Banking & Financial Services, National Recipe Masala (Shoot at Sight Productions) in Best BTL Activation.
Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Healthcare & Hospitals, Brite-Colgate Palmolive (Spectrum Communications) in Fabric Care, Nescafe Basement (Maxmus Pakistan) in Media Innovation, Gulberg Greens-Islamabad (Manhill) in Construction & Real Estate, National Ketchup Zaroori (Saatchi & Saatchi) in Culinary, Walls-Carte D’or (Mindshare) in Ice Cream & Desserts.
Tapal Danedar (Saatchi & Saatchi) in Beverages-Hot, Honda CD Dream (Adcom) in Automotive & Transport, Cadbury Dairy Milk (Ogilvy & Mather) in Confectionary & Snacks, Lux-Unilever (Lowe & Rauf) in Soaps & Handwash, Nestle Nido (Ogilvy & Mather) in Children’s Products & Services, Leisure Club-Vote for Pakistan (R Vision) in Public Services, Mobilink Brand Relaunch (D’ Hamidi Partnership) in Telecommunication Service Providers, Telenor Pakistan (Adcom-Green Man’s Ark) in Best in Digital, Tehreek-i-Insaaf (Farigh Four) in Political Advertising, McDonald’s Breakfast Surprise (MAC Pakistan) in Hotels & Restaurants.
Others — TCS Pakistan (Green Man’s Ark), Passion for Pakistan — National Foods-National ka Pakistan (Shoot at Sight Productions), Jury Chair (PAS Awards) Best Original Local Campaign — Bank Al Habib-Itna Khayal to Koi Apna hi Rakh Sakta Hai (Bond Advertising), and Campaign of the Year — Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (Farigh Four).
The master of ceremony actor and radio presenter, Khalid Malik, did a knockout job of hosting the evening, getting the audience actively involved in warm-up exercises, which was no easy feat, inspiring everyone with his infectious energy, conducting mock market research for a brand of baby formula, taking frequent jabs at the social media frenzy, executing a dance-cam moment and much more.
As for the entertainment performances interspersed in between the awards, Arif Lohar and his troupe announced the official opening of the ceremony with a highly charged performance to Jugni complete with his trademark chimta and a live dhol beat.
Later, taking cue from him, various other noted performers also made a splendid display of their vocal and dance talent. These included Humaima Malik’s sensuous grations to a medley of popular Bollywood item numbers, Sajjad Ali’s performing his tracksYaad to Aati Hogi, Mein Tujhsa to Nahin Hoon and the Coke Studio hit Kir Kir, Mathira’s short but highly charged belly dance number, Ali Gul Pir, Adil Omer and Talal Qureshi sounding off a revolution with the energetic rap and rock tracks Wadere ka Beta, Kholo BC and Paki Rambo, Asim Azhar and finally, Sara Loren’s dance performance.
Further building up the celebrity quotient, the awards presented in various categories were given away by CEOs, company heads and managing directors of corporations, etc flanked by women and men from fashion, music and television.
Thus, we had award presenters Zong CTO Faisal Niazi, accompanied by the ravishing Sarwat Gillani, IAl Saatchi & Saatchi chairperson Ruby Haider coupled with Hasan Soomro, Adviser to Chief Minister on Culture & Tourism Sharmila Farooqi and Moammar Rana, Tapal Tea CEO Aftab Tapal and Tatmain, jewellery designer Nazneen Tariq and Aab Tak morning show host Fahim Abbas, Marketing Association of Pakistan President Masood Hashmi and Rubya Chaudhry (draped in a gorgeous matte gold creation by Nadia Hussain), APNS Regional Chairman Qazi Asad Abid and stylist Angie Marshall, veteran actor Shakeel and actress Shazia Naz, Express CEO Yousuf Baig Mirza and Mehwish Hayat, Engro Foods CEO Sarfaraz Rehman and Urwa, PTV MD Mohammed Maalik and Sadaf Qamar, Sitara-i-Imtiaz winner and reconstructive & burns surgeon Dr Mohammad Ali Jawad and Angeline Malik, Option-A CEO Semyne Khan and Rizwan Ali Jaffery, Servis Sales Corp GM Farooq Sheikh and Zara Tareen, and Bank Alfalah CEO Bahuddin Khan and Mathira.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2014