Our Favorite Patriotic Campaigns We Can Learn From
Every year Pakistani brands come up with new ideas for their patriotic campaigns, may they be for 23rd March, 14th of August or just to excite that passionate, patriotic blood inside of you. And we have to say, all of them have different forms of beauty and aesthetics involved, covering one aspect to another from the rich culture Pakistan possesses. But even in all that patriotism, some brands end up standing out from the rest and get remembered for years onward. Hence, we have combined a list of our favorite patriotic campaigns over the years that we can all learn a lesson or two from.
Pepsi
Pepsi took Pakistan by storm with their nostalgic campaign a few years back when they brought back their vintage designs on their bottles and cans. The campaign was promoted with the actor Fawad Khan getting hold of different Pepsi cans and getting thrown-back (quite literally) to the era when those designs were made for the brand.
We get to see Zohaib Bangash performing his iconic ‘Ek Do Kehney Bhi Do’ and then the gets a hold of the 1992 Pepsi can and gets transported in the era when Pakistan won the ICC World Cup with “Hum Hain Pakistani Hum Jeetengey” playing simultaneously. This leads to him coming across Wasim Akram who hands him a can that leads him to the 2004 era of everyone’s favorite Strings’ Ghata Chayi campaign featuring Meera, who hands Fawad Khan the latest Pepsi designed can which brings us back to the modern era with the words ‘Ab Humari Baari’.
The advert is not just patriotic but highly nostalgic, covering important parts of the country’s history in cricket and music, and doing so quite beautifully.
Ufone
Always known for its unique and humorous ads, Ufone did something very different in their 2010 ad campaign. We see a man, Aftab, playing Sohni Dharti on his flute with the narrator describing how Aftab is blind and can’t see Pakistan’s colors yet whenever he plays his flute, Sohni Dharti comes flowing out of it, a song praising the country for its beauty. It’s a heartwarming and emotional advert that touched the hearts of a lot of people and gained Ufone a lot of praise for their different approach to celebrating Pakistan’s Independence.
Sooper
Sooper takes it in its hand to display the different cultures of Pakistan through its TVC, with the shots changing to cover different parts of Pakistan with the idea being to promote the message of how freedom is the name of a Sooper emotion. It’s a good look into the richness of the different cultures that are part of this nation with a look at country and city life alike. The advert gained instant popularity and became a favorite among the population.
Khaadi
Khaadi, known as the nation’s biggest clothing brand, displayed their patriotism through their diversity campaign with the slogan “Me Bhi Pakistan Houn”. The ad shows not the mainstream cultures but digs deeper into the minorities of the country with them expressing how they’re as equally a part of Pakistan as anyone else. It’s a campaign that not only displays the freedom Pakistan achieved but also gives us a look at how every citizen of this country feels emotions and love for the nation. The advert aims to send the message that Pakistan came into being after a lot of struggle not just for the Muslims but for every different culture; so that every person gets equal opportunities to live and practice their religion.
Tapal
Tapal, in this year’s campaign, takes a new approach to display the nation’s collectively favorite drink ‘Tea’, by speaking of how many different forms and recipes of Tea are made all around the country. The advert is a nod to the different cultures and ethnicities that are a part of Pakistan and how they all combine together to make one whole, Pakistan. Just like that, the different types of tea make the brand, Tapal. The campaign is called NationaliTea, the tea brand loved by the entire nation. I don’t know about all of you but I can say it’s a favorite in my household so I can’t deny their claim!
Coke Studio
Coke Studio prides in calling itself the Sound of the Nation, and they’ve proven it over and over again. But perhaps their most patriotic campaign yet has been of how they’ve released a patriotic song or poem as part of their premier on every 14th August since the last few seasons. The song is sung as a collaboration between all the artists taking part in the season and it combines to form a beautiful melody. This began in Season 8 of the show when they released Sohni Dharti, and continued in the following seasons with Seasons 9, 10 premiering with Aye Raah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedon, Hum Dekhenge, and Season 11 premiering with the National Anthem itself. Last year, for Season 12, they released the country’s most renowned Wohi Khuda Hai in Atif Aslam’s voice, paying tribute to Pakistan’s culture of Islam and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s singing excellence all at once.
However different their tones might be from each other, there is no doubt that all these campaigns give rise to that deep patriotic feeling from inside of all of us and makes us feel proud to be part of a nation rich with culture and traditions. These are just a few from the vast amount of unique and patriotic campaigns to choose from. And surely, this year again we’ll get to see several different ideas from different brands come the independence day.
I think, PEPSI and COKE are topping the list.