Its been a matter of great debate for me, with people asking me all sorts of questions about my return to telco instead of taking the standard fmcg route...after all thats what i had planned and why i did an internship with reckitt.
Heres the thing...when you go to college, your only objective shouldnt be getting a job, but rather finding a company that gives u a certain purpose, and thats what I saw in Telenor. we always tend to bitch about how the cleint never has the guts to change perspectives, how the client will not risk revenues to go for creative executions. Telenor did the absolute opposite with their karo mumkin campaign. Theyve provided us with a positioning that show all that is possible if we all start working towards an objective...together.
Its good to know that im part of a company that believes in changing customer lives by not simply selling soaps, but instead changing the very way they function. Whereas our ad strategy can be questioned, no one can argue what our services like easypaisa, doctor helpline and blood donation drive have done for this country.
And thats what i want to continue doing. Changing pakistan and taking it to new levels of success and contributing in my own way.
Think about it. What have u done for your country?
I want to change things. I want to make movies and sing songs with a purpose. I want to use mass media to change perceptions, re arrange mindsets, change power mongers and throw them out of government. My latest idea comes from sitting at my college library with songs of Jiye Altaf - a song dedicated to the leader of a fascist organization MQM that promises to bring certain death to our country.
The people of my city Karachi are so God Damn scared of this man that they will never stand up in an open crowd and speak about him. Even the most powerful news source in Pakistan, the GEO network, who call themselves the champions of Pakistani democracy, does not dare publish and run a negative news clip about, out of fear of reprisal.
But I still want to. I want to sing,write, and bring a revolution. Why havent I done it? Im scared. Is it wussy to be scared? Not really. Ive never been one to think too much about my safety. I think the ultimate issue is how my death in a target killing with affect those around me. I have parents who would probably die thinking about how unfair it was to outlive their own kid. I have a girl who im crazy about and i cant dare think about leaving.
But then doesnt everybody? The question that comes to mind is this - how many people are there out there that are as scared as i am? And if we, the educated elite are so scared to do something about our conditions and keep thinking about those around us, who will it be that will stand up and change things?
