“Advertisements in Pakistan; Cultural Agents disguised as a Cultural Threat”

By Dur e Najaf
One of the many shreds of evidence of Re-orientalism within the Pakistani culture comprises
stereotypical identities which are attributed to certain perceptions and keep on germinating with
time. Their roots which are believed to be planted deep within the culture have influenced the
culture effectively over time because of being propagated deep within the ideals and is nurtured
by the authority. As Said (1978) states, “There is nothing mysterious or natural about authority. It
is formed, irradiated, disseminated; it is instrumental, it is persuasive; it has status, it establishes
canons of taste and value; it is virtually indistinguishable from certain ideas it signifies as true,
and from traditions, perceptions, and judgments it forms, transmits, reproduces.” (41-42). This is
the very authority that contributes to strengthening the negative ideals of a certain group and then
making it a general idea about the majority.
Pakistan is a country whose foundation is laid based on Islam. This overtime painted a certain
kind of picture within the people belonging to indigenous groups all over the world regarding its
identity since they combined its ideological foundation with the South Asian culture. Because we
share a history of colonization hence this factor also played a significant role in the development
of a certain kind of notion which became a permanent factor in defining the Pakistani culture
later on.
With the passage of years, the medium of cultural transformation has shifted too. Since the media
has become stronger than ever in the past few years hence most of the cultural representation
from this side of the world is made via electronic and social media to the rest of the world. One
of the major sources of depicting the cultural identity is the advertisements which have garnered
international attention in the growing years. As it is always believed that short films or
advertisements are one way to influence the audience hence this industry has now become very
popular in making or breaking the audience's ideals not only about the product in which they are
interested but also in the culture which is exposed before them.
We see advertisements also getting a typical colour of promoting ideas which are shaped by the
stereotypical opinions about various cultural aspects. The phenomenon of re-orientalism appears
dominantly within them and unfortunately, the most problematic thing is that the ads which
promote such kinds of ideas come from our writers and intellectuals rather than being a product
of some diaspora’s mind. What intrigues more is the satisfaction of the actors and the media
heads on constantly promoting standards that are framed in the light of certain stereotypes. These
are the stereotypes that have remained a major issue for ages and still prevail within the public
because of a wrongly portrayed image.
Pakistani society which is believed to be a kingdom for patriarchy expresses itself completely
when we see the representation in the form of oppressing a newly married daughter-in-law
within this ad film of a desert “Laziza Kheer'' (2013). Here we find a girl who just begins her
marital life and is nervous about preparing her first desert. Amidst this, her mother-in-law
ridicules her by saying, “Bahu! Kheer bana tau lo gee naa?” In her utter nervousness, she is
continuously overwhelmed by her mother-in-law who refuses to help her in any way. The
scenario gets grave when the whole family gathers to taste the dessert prepared by the newlywed
girl and the father-in-law’s stiff expressions make the whole advertisement entirely disturbing.
The promotion of the idea of oppressing a girl based on her fine cookery skills leaves a deep
impact since we see that even the husband does not come to support his wife a bit and the
situation de-escalates right when the head of the family approves of the desert. Such depiction
supports this patriarchal idea that in Pakistani culture if a woman cannot make good food, she is
simply useless. This also propagates the idea that a woman is supposed to stay silent and obey
the orders within this culture even if she is oppressed by the in-laws.
This kind of depiction also appears within the “Shaan Shoop Noodles” (2020) advertisement
where a husband ridicules his wife upon her offering his help in repairing the car tire by
questioning, “Tum Karo gi?” This paints a very clear picture that how men in Pakistan think of
women as weak and fragile who are unable to do anything which requires force. This also
signifies the division of the workforce between male and female members of this society. As the
woman is firstly shown within the kitchen making noodles for her husband and right after she
prepares noodles she joins her husband. This presents the idea that no matter how capable a
woman is, her priority always is the kitchen and meeting her husband needs.
The idea of staying in the kitchen, doing all the dishes and washing clothes has normalized
within Pakistan. As we see within “Lemon Max Dishwash Bar '' (2019), where despite the
presence of the husband, the girl does the dishes and intention of cleaning up perfectly states
that, “Bhtt ragarna pry ga”. In the same way, within “Ariel Washing Powder'' (2021) ad, we find
a mother talking to a popular cricketer who serves as a youth icon, “Waseem Akram''. She shares
her concern about the dirty shirt and says, “Lekin main tau collars ki safai main koi kasar nahi
chorti.” These kinds of dialogues make clear how women both in the role of wives and mothers
are bound to serve to achieve perfection for the male members of the family.
Not only patriarchy is a great issue which gets sketched within various advertisements but at the
same time, we find the themes of misogyny in the advertisements more often if a girl defies the
standard. There are brands like “Lux” (2020) that use a popular face to endorse the slogan of
attaining a “Chaand Saa Roshan Chehra” which goes rightly following the idea of having a fair
complexion. The notion of having fair skin is a very popular cultural belief in SouthEast Asia
and even in the Pakistani context people have idealized the concept of fair skin and those having
a darker tone are ridiculed or subjected to criticism.
Skin shaming is not the only stereotype that is continuously expressed within the pieces of
literature but the point of fat-shaming also remains a favourite subject of many Pakistani
advertisements. In 2019, the “Walls Creamy Delight Scoops' ' advertisement highlighted this
when we found Mahira Khan body-shaming her aunt. The aunt refuses to take up the creamy
scoops by putting up the reason “Mera figure khraab ho jaye ga”. To this Mahirah replies that
“Phupho is sy khraab kya hoga?” Now this needs to be analysed carefully because it depicts two
major stereotypes at the same time. One is the condition of “maintaining the ideal figure” for a
middle-aged woman which of course is just a false concept since not every middle-aged woman
in Pakistan can maintain a perfect figure. However, the advertisement reflects so. The second
thing we witness alongside it is the attitude towards having a figure which does not meet the
ideal needs.
Another campaign launched by a renowned fashion designer “Fahad Hussayn” by the name of
“Mera Jora” (2021) which reflected many oriental ideas prevailing within Pakistani culture. As
the video starts we find the narrator explaining the basic wedding essentials here in Pakistan
where the “Shaadi Ka Jora” is the most essential item a bride needs and it also tells the
anticipation of a woman for her wedding dress as well as “Shehzada”. This ignited the idea that
for a woman over here, Marriage is the most important norm which needs to be performed with
colors and pomp because it is something parents here have been waiting for for a long time. At
the same time, we find the concept of an ideal bride who needs to be covered in a “veil or
ghungat” for the sake of the sight of the groom. This also supports this idea of “shame or haya”
which needs to be there within a bride as it is one of the many attributes which are essential to be
there within a bride. This concept of romanticizing marriage and anticipating the start of this
future life is one of the many ideas one can add up in the section of stereotypes that are
expressed repeatedly.
These advertisements are the work of Pakistani intellect and, strangely, many of the promising
and renowned brands in Pakistan have contributed to giving a strong foundation to the
stereotypes existing. These works when viewed through a western lens are considered strange
and stringent, which makes the Pakistani culture a rigid one from the eye of the West. It not only
impacts the international audience but affects the nation too when they find many of the big and
celebrated names promoting false concepts on screen. These kinds of “advertisements cause
people to interpret new but stereotypical images in a preconceived way due to the initial
impressions of those activities in their minds.” (The Nation, 2019). This ultimately leaves no
room for considering Pakistani culture a flexible one which is the real problem that needs to be
catered to carefully.

References
ArielKareGaSabPossible. “#ArielKareGaSabPossible.” YouTube, 31 Jan. 2021,
youtu.be/RH3qp_G076M. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.
Best Pakistani ADS. “Laziza Kheer Mix Thematic TVC (2013).” YouTube, 21 Feb. 2020,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZyyOQ-Ey2I. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.
Best Pakistani ADS. “Sana Javed and Feroz Khan in Lemon Max Dishwash Bar TVC
2019.” YouTube, 22 Nov. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqbWjTxyrKM. Accessed 5 Mar.
2021.
Lux new ad starring Fahad Mustafa & gorgeous diva Mehwish hayat. “Lux New Ad Starring
Fahad Mustafa & Gorgeous Diva Mehwish Hayat.” YouTube, 9 Oct. 2020,
youtu.be/7gbMxzOJ7B0. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.
mediatrack Pakistan. “WALLS CREAMY DELIGHT (MAHIRA KHAN).” Vimeo, 22 July 2020,
vimeo.com/440627562. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.
Mera Jora | Presenting Fahad Hussayn Couture | Zeb Bangash ft. Grehan Band & Iqra
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Aziz.” YouTube, 10 Jan. 2021, youtu.be/9K1L1ClTmDA. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.
Qaiser, Zara. “Pakistani TV and Harmful Gender Stereotypes.” The Nation, 29 Mar. 2019,
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Said, Edward W. “Orientalism.” New York, Vintage Books, 2003.
SEEME Production. “Shan Shoop | Trust Tou Must Hai 1.” YouTube, 13 Jan. 2020,
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