Disclaimer*: The articles shared under 'Your Voice' section are sent to us by contributors and we neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of any facts stated below. Parhlo News will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the website. Read our disclaimer.
This post is also available in: العربية (Arabic) اردو (Urdu)
Recently I spotted the streamers on National Highway put up by a well-known brand, Ideas by Gul Ahmed. The company has blatantly violated the order of the supreme court. The court has banned all sorts of billboards and streamers on roads, sideways, green belts, pedestrian bridges etc. The order says, no law permits the outdoor advertising on public property, and has also defined the definition of public property.
When I posted about this on a well-known marketing group “Khalid Alvi Marketing Next” on Facebook, so many people came to the rescue of the brand, including their brand team. They tried to justify this illegal activity by giving examples of other brands who have also put up the streamers in the city. Later the post was deleted by the group admin, sadly.
So many wrongs don’t make any wrong a right. Instead of accepting their mistake, Gul Ahmed Brand Team and other marketers started questioning my morals. After insisting, I called the Director Advertising, of DMC Malir, he categorically said: “These streamers are illegal, and are in against of the order of the supreme court. And shall be taken down very soon”.
However, in an attempt to maximize profits, companies often exploit the line of what’s ethically right or wrong. They are busy in a race of getting ahead of competitors even if it is on the cost their values and the law of the land. A famous corporate psychologist, Justin Schultz, said “Just as character matters in people, it also matters in organizations”
Ethics and integrity are core values of any business. These values should never be compromised. In a country like ours, it is not difficult to illegally take the support of authorities. Brands cannot come up with the excuse that authorities allowed them to break the law. The people running these companies are sensible enough to understand the law and respect it.
All around the world, brands are running campaigns to support the healthy practices among people. They encourage masses to be a better citizen of their countries. It is depressing to see the popular brand, violating the law, and justifying it shamelessly. I hope they will rectify this mistake, and not give any chance to their customers to complain about their practices
