PAS Holds Annual General Meeting

Pakistan Advertisers Society held its 25th Annual General Meeting followed by a dinner hosted by Dr. Zeelaf Munir, Chairperson of PAS, and CEO and MD, English Biscuit Manufacturers (EBM).

Dr. Muneer initiated the proceedings by thanking all the members, especially the executive council for playing a pivotal role in the success of PAS. Elaborating the PAS’s vision, she emphasised the need to focus on the quality and content of the work and stressed the importance of increasing value proposition that will benefit the members and will also contribute towards the growth of the industry. In her address, she also welcomed Foodpanda and Sheild Corporation for joining the Society.

Mr. Qamar Abbas, Executive Director, PAS, briefed the members about the key initiatives taken in 2022 and also shed light on the vision and plan for the year 2023. This was followed by the overview of Effie Awards Pakistan by Afsheen Rizavi, General Manager, PAS.

On the occasion, the members deliberated issues about content regulation, media measurement, policy on making marketing claims, etc.

The AGM was followed by PAS Chairperson’s dinner that was attended by distinguished marketers, agency executives, people from media, and academia.

A Land with No Joy

Bringing immense joy to the land of the pure, the film Joyland has become Pakistan’s first-ever film to be shortlisted for the Oscars in its International Feature Film category.

Now en route to the nomination process, Joyland was among 15 films shortlisted in the category. Earlier in 2022, Joyland, produced by Saim Sadiq, became the first Pakistani film to make it to the Cannes Film Festival, also known as the International Film Festival, where the film won awards and received a burst of applause from the global film fraternity.

Among the other films shortlisted for the Oscars’ International Feature Film category are: ‘Last Film Show’ (India), ‘The Blue Caftan’ (Morocco), ‘Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’ (Mexico), ‘Argentina, 1985’ (Argentina), ‘The Quiet Girl’ (Ireland), ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (Germany), ‘Corsage’ (Austria), ‘Cairo Conspiracy’ (Sweden), ‘EO; South Korea’s Decision to Leave’ (Poland), ‘Close, Cambodia’s Return to Seoul’ (Belgium), ‘Holy Spider (Denmark), and ‘Saint Omer’ (France).

In the past, Pakistan’s first Nobel laureate, Dr Abdus Salam was globally recognised for his work in physics, but despite his stellar contributions he is entirely absent from Pakistan’s history books. Such an attitude that too at the national level is alarming and speaks volumes about the hidebound mindset that typifies Pakistani society as a whole. Though the film Joyland aims to explore the relationship dynamics between a man and a transgender woman, the subject does not lead to anything offensive or immoral, and the story does well to portray the plight of the transgender community, which is normally denounced and vilified in public discourse. At this crucial juncture, the need is to address the deep-seated fault-lines that give rise to an unnecessary reaction against a piece of art, which should be supported and avidly acknowledged in place of being censored or banned altogether.

The Book ‘Gambit on the Devil’s Chessboard’ Launched

The launching ceremony of the book ‘Gambit on the Devil’s Chessboard’ by Imran H. Khan was recently held in Karachi. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani was the chief guest on the occasion, while many notable personalities spoke to the event, including Senator (R) Javed Jabbar, Ameena Saiyid, Muhammad Ali Siddiqi, Professor Huma Baqai and Professor Kaleem Raza Khan.

The event was organised and hosted by CMC - the perception management company.

In his speech, Senator Raza Rabbani highlighted how Pakistan’s most prominent novelists in the past decade have one thing in common, and that is they’re all out of Pakistan. He shed light on how we no longer have the coffee culture that induced and instigated new ideas. Speaking on the occasion, Senator (R) Javed Jabbar said, “One of the reasons why I found the book riveting was how it is so fast-paced, yet it is very clear and precise with the flip of every page.”

A notable name in the genre of storytelling, Imran H. Khan shed light on his journey of writing a riveting fictional novel and said that he wanted to highlight the drastic imbalance of power and wealth, which is something we need to be worried about. A professor at the School of Medicine, University of California, Imran Khan earned his Ph.D. at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. Researching tuberculosis has taken him worldwide, leading to trials of novel TB diagnostics in endemic countries like India, and revealing the threat of poverty to the planet. Imran Khan continued in his journey of education, he armed himself with international strategic management skills with an MBA from California State University, Sacramento. Fueled by a great passion, he established his own state of the art biotechnology company.

Pakistan Advertising Association Appoints Executive Director

Veteran advertising professional Jamil Syed has taken the driver’s seat at the Pakistan Advertising Association (PAA). He will be operating as the Executive Director of this representative body. Syed brings with him an experience of over two decades of serving major advertising agencies. He has also had the privilege of leading Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS), and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) in their formative years.

Syed had also played an inning with A.C. Nielsen Pakistan as their Head of Media Research. The multidimensional connect with the industry makes him fluent to comprehend the perspective of various stakeholders in media business, and lend him an acumen of need assessment and problem solving.

Welcoming this inclusion, Chairman, PAA, Syed Jawaid Iqbal said that taking Syed in the folds will enhance the face of the Association, and will naturally add value to its corporate relevance.