Adil Najam
I am as excited about Pakistan’s Test cricket victory against Australia as the next guy. Maybe even more.
But this huge (quarter page) advertisement on the front page of today’s (Sunday’s) The News is just plain bad taste.
That it is an ad for Pepsi – a major global brand, but also the official sponsor of Pakistan cricket (over-sized Pepsi logos are the most prominent thing on the official clothing of Pakistani cricketers), makes it only more so.
It was obviously made in a hurry. But I, for one, wish it had never been made. Whether Pepsi does so or not, let me apologize to Ricky Ponting. This, as they say, is just not cricket!
I do not know what was the thought behind this Ad?
If they thought this was funny; it is not. Only early today I had a chat with my 7-year old explaining to him that making fun of other people’s names is not funny, because we would not like it if others make fun of ours.
If they thought it was a commentary on Pakistan cricket and a show of support for Pakistani cricket; it is not. Despite the exciting victory we pulled off, no serious cricket fan will claim that Pakistan is the better team of the two. There is much that we should try to learn from Australia, even in this Test: their fight back till the very end, for example! The argument I often give to my 7-year old is also valid here: imagine what might be our reaction if Indian or Australian or British newspapers started carrying Ads like this about Pakistan each time we lost a game or something bad happened in Pakistan (and those, unfortunately, happen all too often!)?
But that is not the point. The point is that this Ad has no point. At least no redeeming point.
All it does is insult. And not just Ricky Ponting. It insults the brand integrity of Pepsi, and even more the brand identity of Pakistan cricket (since Pepsi is its official sponsor) and of Pakistan and Pakistanis in general (the green background is not accidental, nor is the bouncing kangaroo). It presents and projects us as a mean, insensitive, gloating, and petty people. Some of us may, indeed, be that. But I am not prepared to be ‘branded’ in that light; and certainly not by Pepsi.
Maybe I am over-reacting. And clearly this is not the of the problems we face. But sometimes it is the small things that pinch hardest, because they become metaphor for all the big things that are wrong. I just wish that whoever made and approved this Ad had read Mian Mohammad Bakhsh’s Saif-uk-Muluk:
Dushman marey tey khushi na kariye sajjna vi mar jaana
(Do not gloat when an enemy dies, your friends too will die)
Editor’s note: Here are some examples of bad advertising; of good advertising; and of advertising nostalgia.
Very bad taste. Certainly not what you expect from a big corporation like Pepsi.
This is clearly bad taste and not even funny. In another country it would just be a case of a bad advertisement, to be ignored. In Pakistan, I think it signifies a larger problem. You and the recent one on Karachi have pointed out the lack of civility and that is what this ad as well as many of the comments show. Everyone is always angry, always discourteous, never careful about how what we say may hurt someone, always shouting, always agitated. And most importantly always vengeful.
You see that in the silly sentiment that “well they do it, so we should too.” If a three year old says that it is cute, but when grown people actually talk like that you have to wonder where their taleem o tarbiyat got stunted.
But I guess that is the ‘angry’ Pakistan that we have made for ourselves, and it is really in all of us.
Comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
– “on the basis of morality it is quit disturbing.. but what happen on this morality when Australian cricketers used slang words against any Asian team.why these articles are not written at that point of time ……..?
not to take seriously ..enjoy the work :)”
– “Its insulting”
– “Oh plz stop the moral policing I have seen worst in ausie and english newspapers. I find the add quite cheeky. Was an ausie kfc add ok with u that they made when shahid afridi decided to use the ball as his apple of the day, just don’t criticise for the sake of it. We need humour and banter to again learn to smile, at least when people saw this add they would have smiled. We don’t get many these days when we pick up a news paper. I totally respect ur view but as Pakistani we shouldn’t get apologetic over each and every thing.”
– “”Maybe I am over-reacting.” ? Affirmative .”
– “meh, calm down, non issue. even ponting would take this one lightly. why are we pakistani’s so hot headed about everything we see and hear…?”
– “They deserver it, should be tit for tat…..”
– “Sure, when someone says even the slightest against us we go around burning tires, banning websites, even killing people. Otherther’s of course, need to ‘take the joke’. Sharam karo logo. ”
– “We are not blind to overlook where the west is discriminating us. It is true that we have made a mockery of ourselves and provided them with the opportunities to make fun of us. But still that doesn’t make them noble and always right. Alhamdolillah we are far better than the rest.”
– “lets face it, we are too culturally sensitive. we go around killing other people for the slightest of difference of opinion. as they say, we need to calm the **** down.
cartoons made in netherlands, and some savage mob burns down half of lahore. just flippin awesome.
the day you just ignore, they’ll leave you alone…
and no; the ad wasn’t an insult and no need to be apologetic; you’ll be lucky if it even makes it to the australian press.”
– “hm… we’re far better than the rest?
we kill minorities, we institutionally discriminate against minorities, our citizens go abroad and kill/try to kill civilians. our gender discrimination goes beyond any levels of morality. and then our perversity, things like:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-l ibrary/dawn/the-newspaper/local/16-cousin-held-for -girls-rape%2C-murder-070-hs-02
happen everyday. and when we try to strengthen laws against gender discrimination, our islamic political parties lobby against them.
im not saying we’re better or worse than anyone. but we can’t turn a blind eye about our own actions.
PS: i realize this has little to do with the initial topic. i personally didn’t consider the ad offensive. respect adil najam a lot, but i think he’s overreacting! though the humor is crude…”
– “Quit overreacting to an Ad. Really people, it is an Ad. This kind of stuff goes on all the time”
– “Its kind of in slight bad taste but to a point made in the article about adds in British papers etc. As someone who grew up in the UK and witnessed all the controversy during the Waqar/Wasim era let me assure you that this add is positively polite and on the light side. So, I think you are overreacting a little.”
– “Take it easy mate! Have you not been reading Aussie press?”
Australians are the sledging champions of cricket. They have also been dominant in most forms of cricket for the last ten years. After hearing the Aussies gloat every time they win a test match and considering the long wait (15 years) for a win over Australia in a test match, I think this commercial is justified and funny.
Kangaroo Curry here we come :)
I don’t think it is particularly insulting. But it is certainly not funny. Cheesy in a second grade (second rate) sort of way. As others have said, what is odd is that it is done by an international company.
By the way, had Pakistan been some great cricket team that is always winning then this gloating would have made sense, right now what is most pathetic about this is that we are such a bad cricket team that this is more pathetic than funny.