Abou he Auhor(s)
Maria Tanveer and her partner, Lubna Shabbir, both BS Physics students at Fatima Jinnah Women University in Rawalpindi, have authored an insightful article examining the cultural impact of Pakistani brands. Their work delves into how these brands shape and reflect societal values, influence consumer behaviour, and contribute to national identity.
Advertising and the Commodification of Culture: A Case Study on How Brands Use Cultural Festivals and Traditions in Pakistan
- Introduction:
Advertising is pivotal in shaping consumer behaviour and societal norms, often intersecting with cultural traditions and festivals to promote products and services. In Pakistan, brands strategically utilize cultural events such as Eid, Ramzan, and Independence Day to create advertisements that resonate deeply with consumers, blending commercial interests with national or religious sentiments. While cultural festivals hold immense spiritual, social, and traditional value, advertising often commodifies these events by embedding commercial motives. This commodification of culture is not unique to Pakistan, but the specific nuances of local customs, traditions, and religious practices make the phenomenon distinct in the Pakistani context.
In Pakistan, festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha are significant events that bring families together and involve large-scale celebrations. Brands tap into the emotions associated with these festivals to promote products ranging from clothing to food, electronics, and real estate. Another pivotal moment for advertising in Pakistan is during Ramzan, where brands frequently launch unique campaigns that leverage the spirit of charity, family, and spirituality. Independence Day celebrated on August 14th, is another time when brands invoke patriotic sentiments to connect with consumers and sell products that often have little direct relevance to the event itself.
The commercialization of such festivals raises questions about the intersection of tradition and modernity. Advertisers often blend authentic cultural symbols with commercial messaging.
While this marketing strategy creates financial opportunities for businesses, it risks diminishing the intrinsic cultural values of festivals, transforming them into consumption-driven experiences rather than expressions of spirituality, unity, or national pride.
- Literature Review:
The commodification of culture has been widely discussed in critical media studies, sociology, and anthropology. Scholars like Guy Debord (1967), in his seminal work “The Society of the Spectacle,” have analyzed how capitalist economies commodify products, experiences, and cultural symbols. Pierre Bourdieu (1984) also emphasized how consumption is linked to cultural capital and how economic power shapes cultural practices.
In advertising, this commodification often involves brands appropriating cultural festivals and traditions to create marketing campaigns that resonate with local consumers. Brands use cultural symbols, rituals, and narratives to align their products with the values and emotions associated with these festivals. For example, during Eid, brands in Pakistan release unique advertising campaigns that emphasize family, generosity, and religious devotion, central to the festival. This practice is not unique to Pakistan, as brands worldwide have used cultural festivals, such as Christmas in the West or Diwali in India, as marketing tools to drive sales.
Example: Asim Jofa, a renowned Pakistani fashion designer, is a prime example of someone promoting Pakistan’s cultural heritage through fashion. Asim Jofa promotes Pakistani culture through fashion by:
- Using traditional embroidery techniques like zardozi and tilaa.
- Incorporating indigenous fabrics such as silk, jamawar, and khaddi.
- Designing traditional clothing styles like ‘lehngas’ and ‘shararas’ with Mughal-inspired patterns
- Showcasing Pakistani fashion on international platforms.
- Creating bridal collections that preserve the essence of Pakistani wedding traditions.
- Supporting local artisans to sustain traditional craftsmanship. This shows how fashion can help preserve and promote cultural heritage.
However, scholars like Asif Jah (2015) have also raised concerns about the impact of commodification on cultural authenticity. When brands reduce cultural traditions to commercial products, the deeper meanings and significance of these traditions risk being lost or distorted.
Additionally, the commodification of culture can lead to cultural homogenization, where diverse cultural practices are simplified and standardized to appeal to a mass audience.
- Critical Analysis:
Cultural festivals like Eid, Ramzan, and Independence Day in Pakistan are deeply embedded in the people’s collective consciousness. These events are moments of religious significance, reflection, community gathering, and national pride. However, with the rise of consumerism and capitalist market forces, these events have increasingly become opportunities for corporate exploitation. Advertisers craft narratives that associate their brands with these festivals’ joy, generosity, and unity, often leading to an altered perception of their cultural meanings.
For instance, during Ramzan, brands create campaigns that blend piety with product promotion, ranging from cooking oils claiming to make iftar special to luxury goods being positioned as essential for Eid celebrations. While these advertisements evoke emotions of family togetherness, charity, and religious devotion, they simultaneously encourage consumerism, subtly shifting the focus from the spiritual essence of Ramzan to the material aspects of consumption. Similarly, fashion brands commodify the cultural practice of wearing new clothes on Eid, turning it into a marketing strategy emphasising style and status rather than simplicity or modesty. This blend of tradition with commercial interests tends to diminish the intrinsic values of these festivals, making them more about what is purchased than what is celebrated.
Moreover, the patriotism associated with Pakistan’s Independence Day is another arena where advertisers capitalize on national sentiment. Brands frequently launch Independence products, campaigns, and sales, using symbols like the Pakistani flag or national heroes to evoke pride.
However, such campaigns are often disconnected from the actual values of patriotism and national service turning a solemn day of reflection on national history into a consumer-drive event. This commodification not only redefines the meaning of festivals but also widens the socio-economic divide. High-end brands promote exclusive products that cater only to the elite, marginalizing the middle and lower-income groups who might feel pressured to participate in this commercialized celebration of festivals. In doing so, these advertisements contribute to the fragmentation of society, where culture becomes a luxury accessible only to those who can afford it.
Additionally, there is a growing criticism of how these ads enforce gender stereotypes, with women often being portrayed as caregivers and men as breadwinners during these festivals, further entrenching traditional gender roles in society. Such portrayals, although reflective of a section of Pakistani society, fail to represent the diversity of modern Pakistani families, reinforcing outdated norms instead of challenging them.
- Conclusion:
The commodification of cultural festivals and traditions in Pakistan through advertising presents a complex dynamic between commerce and culture. While these advertisements leverage cultural symbols and values to promote products, they often risk diluting the essence of the festivals themselves. As brands increasingly turn to emotional and patriotic appeals, the focus shifts from genuine celebration and reflection to consumption-driven practices. This phenomenon not only alters the meaning of cultural events but also deepens social divides and reinforces gender stereotypes.
In Pakistan, brands use cultural festivals like Eid, Independence Day, and Basant to sell products, but this reduces the festivals’ cultural and spiritual significance. To fix this, brands should:
- Work with local communities to promote authentic culture
- Support initiatives that preserve cultural heritage
- Encourage consumers to appreciate the deeper meanings of festivals beyond buying things
This will help mitigate the negative effects of commodification and promote cultural diversity and authenticity.
In response to these challenges, there is a growing need for brands to adopt more culturally responsible advertising strategies that respect the spirit of the festivals rather than merely using them as commercial opportunities. This could involve more inclusive representations, less emphasis on materialism, and a stronger focus on the values of unity, charity, and reflection that these festivals embody. While advertising will undoubtedly continue to play a role in shaping how Pakistanis engage with their cultural traditions, it is crucial for businesses to ensure that their campaigns enhance rather than exploit the cultural significance of these events.
