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“Have you checked out the latest lawn
collection of Sana Safinaz?” I love the Élan prints but prices are too
high”, “I am utterly disappointed to see the Volume 2 of J. Lawn”, “Gul
Ahmed prints are simply WOW!!” I am waiting for Khaddi Lawn”.
These are the most common phrases that you will hear from Pakistani
women during summers. Lawn war is on peak as the popular brands have hit
the stores with their latest collections.
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Time has changed drastically. B-Town celebs Kareena and Jacqueline have
replaced the top Pakistani models on the billboards in Pakistan! This
indicates that the lawn business is flourishing in the country. The
billboard on the roads and highways makes it loud and clear that Lawn is
selling like hot cake in the market. The above images are just a few
examples of lawn advertizing campaigns adopted by the brands.
Advertisers are using female celebrity endorsements from mainstream
Bollywood as a strategy to enhance sales or to distract the opposite
gender? This leads to a long debate.
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There is no second thought to the idea that current lawn advertizing
campaign is more or less directed to distract men riding vehicles on the
roads. Kareena Kapoor on the billboard is more prominent rather than the
fabric she is endorsing. This kills the main idea behind the
advertisement. Women can check out the lawn prints either online on
catalog or by physically visiting the store.
This is not restricted to the billboards, as brands like Gul Ahmed and
Al Karam have launched TVCs that are glamorous and bold. The lawn
advertisement features female models in backless, sleeveless clothes
with visible necklines. This cannot motivate women to buy a lawn dress
but it can surely motivate their husbands to check out the stores in
search of models wearing the dress! The major cities of Pakistan are
polluted with these immoral billboards, mostly featured with women
dressed in inappropriate attire. One wonders what kind of fabric they
are selling as the lawn print is less visible than the body of the
model. It is evident that this marketing strategy can translates into
revenue-making numbers for the brands rather than just adding oomph.
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Public Response
The immoral display of women in advertisement is highly criticized by
the civil society of Pakistan. There has been a campaign initiated by
the unheard civil groups such as Women Education Society and the Women
Professional Forum against the immoral advertisements. You can easily
spot the banners at Shahrae Faisal, Gulshan-e- Iqbal, and
Gulistan-e-Jauhar that states “Stop Promoting Nudity for Selling your
Fabric”, “Do not Promote Vulgarism via FASHION” and lot more. According
to the authorities, these are not paid advertisement, as people are
expressing their anger by putting up the banners over the billboards at
night. The Sind Outdoor Advertisers Association and KMC have no clue
about these banners as no organization has claimed the responsibility.
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What the Advertisers should do?
I am personally not against advertising a product. It is eminent to
market your brand that can reach the target audience. I appreciate those
who do not use female models in their campaigns such as J Lawn and are
still making reasonable profit. Marketers should think out of the box to
come up with unique selling ideas that are in accordance to the
teachings of Islam. Women should not be portrayed like a commodity in
the advertisement. The advertisements and TVCs should be fabric focused!
Revise your marketing strategy before you are boycotted by the public!
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