Tune in to the best of Aurora

Extracts from communication trends, brands & personalities that defined the last 70 years of the advertising industry
Published March 19, 2018

1. Everyone’s guilty pleasure

Mamun M. Adil profiles Mathira, one of Pakistan’s most controversial celebrities. (November-December 2011)

2. Losing my nationality

Ali A. Rizvi laments the path of creative ‘Indianisation’ that Pakistan’s advertising industry has taken. (March-April 2012)

Illustration: Creative Unit

3. The lure of Humsafar

Shahrezad Samiuddin discusses how Humsafar succeeded in bringing about a resurgence of Pakistani TV dramas. (March-April 2012)

4. The red effect

Marylou Andrew explores the realities of the apparently enduring ‘Pak-Cheen dosti. (March-April 2012)

Illustration: Creative Unit

5. Amul – The Taste of India

Zohra Yusuf reviews Amul's India: Based On 50 Years Of Amul Advertising By DaCuncha Communication. (September-October 2012)

6. From Turkey with love

Shahrezad Samiuddin examines the Ishq-e-Mamnu phenomenon and how it caused an almost collapse of home-grown television productions. (March-April 2013)

7. Immortal influencers

Mamun M. Adil reviews 'The 100 most influential people who never lived' (January-February 2014)

8. How to catch a lion

Assam Khalid and Ail Rez provide a 7-step guide on how to create award-winning campaigns. (September-October 2015)

Illustration: Creative Unit

9. Chori is not inspiration

Muzaffar Manghi highlights how blatant plagiarism is entrenched in Pakistani advertising. (November-December 2015)

Illustration: Creative Unit

10. If all else fails, there is always the cat

Amir Haleem gives his opinion about what makes content go viral. (July-August 2016)

Illustration: Creative Unit

11. Log kya kehengay?

Rashna Abdi takes issue with the fact that women continue to be stereotyped in the Pakistani media and in its advertising. (July-August 2016)

Illustration: Creative Unit

12. Eight ingredients to ruin Pakistan’s ad industry

Afzal Hussain identifies eight fallacies which are pushing the advertising industry towards mediocrity. (September-October 2016)

Illustration: Creative Unit

13. Sir JJ in the building

Ayesha Shaikh looks back at Junaid Jamshed’s legacy. (November-December 2016)

14. Ten commandments for creatives

Rashna Abdi outlines “10 commandments” that creatives must adhere to. (March-April 2017)

Illustration: Creative Unit

15. Advertising rehab

Umair Kazi presents a ‘detox’ programme for advertising professionals. (May-June 2017)

Illustration: Creative Unit

16. Work It Mom

Atiya Zaidi on the challenges working mothers face in the advertising profession. (May-June 2017)

Illustration: Creative Unit

17. How not to annoy your audience

Umair Saeed on how mid-video advertisements on digital media are intrusive and ineffective. (September-October 2017)

18. Finding Pakistaniat

Tyrone Tellis advocates the need to induct the concept of Pakistaniat in our advertising. (November-December 2017)

19. Guess who wrote a decent print ad the other day?

What makes Javed Jabbar’s ‘Alexander’ ad memorable almost 50 years since it was created? Ali Rex explains. (November-December 2017)

20. Women’s rights and men’s wrongs

Asrar Alam highlights gender stereotyping in Pakistani advertising. (January-February 2018)

21. TV commercials by Asiatic advertising


Read our special report: THE DAWN OF ADVERTISING IN PAKISTAN (1947-2017)