tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32173753971194713112012-02-16T13:37:34.346+05:00The Best Ahmer Kureishi, Ever.Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-87974012758114175872011-03-05T16:23:00.001+05:002011-03-05T16:36:35.102+05:00

Great piece this by Indu Vashist, carried as a guest post by Kafila; I have often wondered about the origins of Jugni. There is hardly anything on the web - and frankly, the Wikipedia article on Jugni is quite unconvincing. It was never convinced Jugni is a woman, or that it has to do anything with spiritualism. In Alam Lohar's version of Jugni, all she does is go from place to place; and in

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-88825148363505376732011-02-06T18:19:00.000+05:002011-02-06T18:19:20.309+05:00

“Prior to the murder of Khaled Said, there were blogs and YouTube videos that existed about police torture, but there wasn’t a strong community around them.”Facebook and YouTube Fuel the Egyptian Protests - NYTimes.com

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-73089232436607205052011-01-06T01:30:00.000+05:002011-01-06T01:30:06.150+05:00

"Starbucks possesses one of retail’s most familiar brand marks, and the company will celebrate its 40th anniversary by introducing a new modification of its trademark siren logo, the inspiration for which goes back to a 16th century Norse woodcut found by Seattle graphic designer Terry Heckler. Most notable in the redesign is dropping "Starbucks Coffee" from the ring encircling the mermaid."There

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-57744066956691002162010-12-22T03:26:00.000+05:002010-12-22T03:26:17.829+05:00

With the New Year just round the corner, the world is abuzz with prophecies of every color, size and breed - but not all predictions are created equal; some are plain old common sense, which commodity, by the way, is notoriously uncommon. Take, for instance, the 6 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2011 by Jesse Thomas; quite a few of them come across as a matter of putting two and two

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-69166432434775927412010-11-24T12:11:00.000+05:002010-11-24T12:11:07.638+05:00

"Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, Simons explains how managers can identify holes in their planning processes and make smart choices. Here's an excerpt outlining the seven questions

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-88889028615615141612010-11-10T23:30:00.000+05:002010-11-10T23:30:37.148+05:00

"There are however many examples of what can arguably be called ugly design that have done very well in creating a strong visual brand.The example that comes to mind is the Google wordmark. The same typeface, rainbow color scheme, drop shadow and beveled look applied to any other entity would never make it as logo of the day on the sites we frequent. Aesthetically, I find the wordmark horrible

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-18637697467353837682010-11-10T22:49:00.000+05:002010-11-10T22:49:34.598+05:00

"The Food and Drug Administration today unveiled 36 proposed designs for new warning labels on cigarette packs, required under a new law that gives the FDA power to regulate tobacco products for the first time. The agency wants feedback, and will pick nine labels next June to use on packages beginning next October. There are a few gross ones, though frankly the imagery could be worse (and is

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-34820492017648665632010-11-01T12:23:00.000+05:002010-11-01T12:23:06.454+05:00

"There are still people within organizations that limit access to information and, presumably, they believe that such limiting affords them a measure of power. That game is sadly common in companies that motivate through fear. In my view, such places will be short-lived; the power and influence of social media will destroy them."Thank you to Barry Lowenthal, the president of The Media Kitchen,

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-65547687172216480822010-10-28T15:46:00.000+05:002010-10-28T15:46:00.486+05:00

"Creative Effectiveness Lions will honour creativity which has shown a measurable and proven impact on a client’s business - creativity that effects consumer behaviour, brand equity, sales, and where identifiable, profit."Cannes Lions Launch Creative Effectiveness Category In 2011 | Ads of the World

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-70351553093476788132010-10-19T18:29:00.001+05:002010-10-19T18:35:30.091+05:00

Sifting through information for relevant bits can be a chore these days. To make things easier for my friends, I have created a Facebook page for this blog; and to go with it, a new Twitter ID. The benefit I expect to immediately flow from this new approach is that my blog posts will not appear in your Facebook or Twitter feed by default; of course, you can opt in by going to the page and

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-46446693805730451632010-10-19T17:48:00.000+05:002010-10-19T17:48:22.924+05:00

Here's a comment Business Recorded carried on the Pakistani government advertising. No too wide of the mark, I would say.

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-20260231722418829302010-10-19T14:54:00.000+05:002010-10-19T14:54:42.971+05:00

The NYT's Media Decoder blog calls them pranksters - but is this just a prank? See for yourself at the website environment activists have created to shadow the Chevron campaign "We agree". The body copy of the shadow campaign goes: "For decades, oil companies like ours have worked in disadvantaged areas, influencing policy in order to do there what we can't do at home. It's time this changed.

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-89305288018709556202010-10-18T15:43:00.000+05:002010-10-18T15:43:53.230+05:00

Here’s a pick-me-up that goes out to all you pen pushers out there: The world-famous aphorisms from the great Ogilvy, organized into an article aiming to capture the essence of his advice to copywriters. Thank you, Nathan Hangen, for this brilliant piece: David Ogilvy’s 7 Tips for Writing Copy That Sells.

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-72723857246387260612010-10-15T15:47:00.000+05:002010-10-15T15:47:29.802+05:00

Don't you love contests? Apart from the prizes and giveaways, the participation itself can be rewarding. Here are two contests most advertising professionals should be eligible to participate in: World's Best Presentation Contest 2010, and Presentation Horror Story Contest. Good luck to any minded to take part.

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-78566331688270648372010-10-12T14:36:00.001+05:002010-10-12T14:52:15.743+05:00

"It can be difficult to tell, but from a PR point of view you could certainly get worse coverage than having all the mainstream media report on how much people loved your brand and didn't want it to change. Any PR team would take that story over other types of negative coverage any day. So will we see more brands conveniently 'forget' about their brand equity in order to get their current

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-5222503971674901422010-10-09T11:21:00.000+05:002010-10-09T11:21:56.320+05:00

See how Sesame Street taps - and multiplies - the power of the "I'm on a horse" meme unleashed by the Old Spice viral campaign starring Isaiah Mustapha: Smell Like A Monster: 'Sesame Street' Spoofs The Old Spice Guy (VIDEO): "

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-33850109463589911392010-10-08T17:28:00.000+05:002010-10-08T17:28:44.702+05:00

The flight of fancy - to the orbit! Thank you AoTW, for sharing this ISS print ad from the past:Lego: Taj Mahal | Ads of the World:

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-40187493190743251062010-09-20T16:19:00.001+05:002010-09-20T16:29:27.772+05:00

One agency's stab at a creative approach to debunk the Islamic identity of terrorism. "Want to be a terrorist? The opposition to the Muslim community center and mosque being considered in downtown Manhattan is based on a purely visceral reaction that condemns an entire religion for the horrible acts on Sept. 11."Adweek has the story: Open Dialog: Addressing Perceptions of Islam.

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-30643224556413417242010-08-23T18:24:00.000+05:002010-08-23T18:24:14.012+05:00

"It’s easy to see how a minimal web design can be misconstrued as something that requires less effort or time to create. After all, conveying the feeling of simplicity and a primary focus is really the purpose of a minimal design. "However, saying that it requires less work couldn’t be further from the truth. Minimal web designs are strategically stripped of excess features and gimmicks in

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-40871781129043787532010-08-19T20:57:00.001+05:002010-08-23T17:58:41.429+05:00

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-40835030665150486142010-08-19T12:48:00.001+05:002010-08-23T18:00:33.319+05:00

This Time article heralds a new Marketing trend brewing in the U.S.: Targeting the Desi demographic. "South Asian marketing is still in its infancy, but early adopters like General Motors, Citibank and GlaxoSmithKline are advertising in ethnic newspapers, buying airtime on satellite channels, sponsoring cultural festivals, underwriting minority scholarships and even creating new products,

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-11417640893995620252010-08-18T14:42:00.003+05:002010-08-18T14:48:30.873+05:00

This post is dedicated to the NUML MBA - Marketing Class (2008-10), with whom I had occasion to briefly interact on the morning of August 17, 2010. Thank you all, guys - you made my day - especially those of you who asked questions. In particular, I am indebted to Shakeela and her group for making it happen; and to Prof. Muhammad Haroon Khan, without whose support it would not have been possible.

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-33701783465177882902010-08-18T13:56:00.000+05:002010-08-18T13:56:14.192+05:00

"The Muslim consumer market, at 1.8bn people, is undeniably the next important (and largely untapped) global opportunity. The halal market alone is worth a staggering US$2.1 trillion a year and is growing at US$500bn a year due to the growth of the global Muslim population." There website has more: Why Islamic Branding | Ogilvy Noor

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-78487107810492477162010-08-17T11:42:00.000+05:002010-08-17T11:42:30.233+05:00

The site Nation Branding has only one mention of Pakistan - and see how it is: "In a recent survey by the East West Communications, Israel was ranked 185 out of 200 nations in terms of positive perception, sandwiched between Iran and Pakistan."Nation Branding » Brand Israel should integrate conflict and adversity, says advisor

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-3161443738108199772010-08-16T15:18:00.001+05:002010-08-16T15:45:16.593+05:00

"According to the results published by OTH, Mobilink subscriber base increased by 10.5% as compared to same period last year closing at 32.2 million at the end of H1 2010. Mobilink closed the first half of 2010 with revenues of PKR 47.5 billion showing a YoY increase of 11.4% and there was a YoY increase of 24.8% in its EBITDA in rupee terms. Moreover, the company’s EBITDA margin has

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217375397119471311.post-55348488505637424772010-08-13T20:32:00.001+05:002010-08-13T20:34:22.186+05:00

"To be successful in advertising you must be very curious. Ask not only ' Why? ' but specially ' Why not? '. That's right - another gem from John Hegarty (John_Hegarty) on Twitter. Meanwhile, anybody seen my blog yet? :)

Ahmer Kureishihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15914152434085953003noreply@blogger.com