Adil Najam
The Ads (commercials) we watch while growing up can sometimes have an amazingly profound an impact on us. When I look back at all my years of growing up with PTV (Pakistan Television) I remember as many ads as I do any other form of programming. The memories of some still bring back a smile on my face. This blog post shares a few of those ads which I was able to find on YouTube.
This first one (above) is the famous Binaca Ad with the, then, child singer Afshaan who used to appear in the Sohail Rana children music programs and later, when all grown up, also appeared often on PTV.
This famous Naurus Ad (Naurus, by the way, is the other Red Bull of Pakistan) was equally popular and the cute little girl featured here was a national sensation of her time. I wonder where she is now.
We have written aboutsome very striking old PIA Ads, print Ads from the 1950s, and also about credit card and bank advertising and telecom company advertising. But old PTV ads have a quality and power all their own (see some new TV ads here).
I am not sure if these ads are necessarily better than the ones we have now. Indeed, some of the new ads are truly amazing – programming quality or better. For example, the Tapal Tea Ads/songs that Shoaib Mansoor produced. And also many more. Mayb, I was younger then and the memories of those days seem more glorious in retrospect. Or, maybe, we only had one channel and much fewer ads and, therefore, whatever was on TV seemed more memorable.
But whatever the reason, for me at least, these ads and the memories of some others from the same era have a particular and special quality to them. I have enjoyed seeing them again, and I hope you will too.
I should confess that I always found this next Ad – of State Life Insurance – rather funny. I still do. The very cute child is praying for her father’s long life and celebrating the fact that he has bought a Life Insurance policy. I wonder why buying – or cashing – a Life Insurance Policy bring such happiness to any child? Anyhow, the ad was catchy and very very popular. In fact, I think it was remade twice or thrice.
By the way, in the realm of the funny were the old Metromillan Billi Marka Agarbatti Ads.
One of my all-time favorite Ads was the old Peek Freens biscuit Ad with the Pied Piper luring all the kids away with Peek Freens biscuits. This is the one filmed on a beautiful hill-station location and produced, I believe, by Javed Jabbar.
Another memorable one was this Ad for Kiwi Show polish. Again, the theme is school children and the classroom.
Do share with us what might be some of your favorite ads from the old PTV days. And why?
Baabu beeri ki janib say tamaam karam farmaaoN ko dill-ee Eid Mubarak!
And .. all the Bata and Service shoe ads around Eid as well. Although polishing the white PT shoes was such a messy job.
Who else polished their shoes at night with Kiwi or the PT shoes with the white-o like stuff that dripped on the floor unless you had an ‘akhbaar’ to catch the run off? :)
Good ‘ol days indeed!
@ ek chutki dentonic say ek chutki mein tammam
dante ghaieb.
Gayee soap say nehlanay kay ba’ad apki gayee
chutki mein chamak utthay gi.
( I am afraid, I have mixed up the ads, does’nt matter !!)
LOL-this is not an ancient Ad but Mod Girl’s Cream bleach Ad was so weired and lame that it always brought smile . It was like:
ummm Mera Gora Bannay Ka Sapna Such Huwa
[an idiot looking guy in window]
Hua
Jab Mod Gal cream bleach ne, Mujhe Chuwa
(same idiot looking guy in window)
CHua
Tu Pandra Minute mey hogai mey Gori Gori
(Idiot guy again)
Gori Gori
how about the hilarious “gai” soap commercial in which the gai (cow) kicks its hind leg to work a toap (canon ball)!!!
Okha_Jatt, The bowler running in the shadow of textile mill ad was none other than Pakistan’s cricketer Jalaluddin.
Jalaluddin holds the record of making first hat-trick in the history of One Day Internationals.