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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Ufone uses Wasim Akram negatively?


Ufone Wasim Akram MNP TV Ad Cellular Network Ad Campaign
Ufone team is much delighted to have his man- Wasim Akram- onboard again. To celebrate this, Ufone designed a new campaign that indirectly hit Mobilink and raises few questions.
It is fact that Ufone is known for its humorous advertisements, out of the box ideas and fine execution. Campaigns like “Teri Meharbani” for depicting the voice clarity and many others are the proof of their hard work and dedication. But, this new TV Commercial with Wasim Akram has compelled me to think that something is missing or undone at their end.
Its latest TVC starts with Wasim Akram playing with ball just like Tom Cruise does in Mission Impossible4: Ghost Protocol before his escape. Here, Wasim flees from Prison and jumps into a van of his old mates.
I don’t know why Ufone had to use a negative practice of fleeing from prison for showing freedom from old and pinching network.  Wasim Akram enjoys a huge fan following that include people from all the age groups even the children. I ask Ufone team that how socially positive it is to break the jail especially when we have recently witnessed theBannu Prison incident. Wont’ it convey this message that escaping from prison is morally not a big issue? Does Ufone believe that filming a crime in a hilarious way some how makes it acceptable?
Secondly, at the end TVC, Ufone’s gang of four declare themselves fastest growing network and call Wasim as fastest bowler. As per record, Ufone was the second GSM company that came into being almost a decade ago. It lost its number 2 position toTelenor long ago and today, it is number 3 cellular operator as far as subscriber base is concerned whereas, the growth rate of ZONG – once number 5th operator – is rising rapidly and now it stands at number 4 challenging Ufone for number 3 position. Had Warid Telecom not fallen into management crisis, it would have taken over number 3 position long ago.
Although, Wasim Akram was the best bowler of his era with magic in his hands, but he was never the fastest. Speed was never a craze for him in his entire career. Calling him the fastest bowler would be like going against the records. Ufone team could have called him the best bowler.
The current TVC is a part of Mobile Number Portability campaign, having used  a negative way of convincing people to transfer on Ufone’s network appears to be the least creative TV ad from Ufone.
According to Ufone’s official PR, Wasim was associated with Ufone when it was at an infancy stage. Majority can easily recall the initial campaigns in which Wasim Akram was seen in an advertisement where the legendary cricketer visits a Ufone office. It is heartening to note both Ufone and Wasim Akram have transformed themselves as icons in their respective fields over a time period.

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