Coca Cola Initiates the First Ever Live Billboard in Pakistan

And once again Coke proves its *Out of Box* thinking! I bet everyone who’se been following my blog posts must be knowing i live close to sea view so any activity or unusual branding taking place at Sea View is hard to miss! Sundays are the most dreaded days for a person who lives close to Sea View as the entire road, from one corner to another, is crowded with people! It feels as if there is no other entertainment spot in Karachi *which might be an exaggeration but trust me, i hate leaving the house on a Sunday if the route to take is sea view!*. But last Sunday was an exception. While returning from some visiting tours at our relatives, we reached sea view and Walla!! What do we see? Three people dancing on a billboard wearing Coke shirts!! That explained the sound of hip hop coke music that we could hear from a distance. This definitely was better than the traditional regional music one is forced to listen to at Sea View on a Sunday!(I’m intentionally not mentioning the exact type or the owner of the blog wouldn’t accept the post!).

These 3 guys were actually dancing on a ramp made on the billboard, a good number of feets above the ground and there were crowds of people standing there *dumbfounded*. The same instant a thought struck to my mind regarding their safety and then i noticed the foam cushions on the ground and sighed!

I didn’t manage to see the entire performance as i could only convince my dad to stop for a little while for me to take the pic.

On the whole, this was really Innovation *at-least for me* as i have never witnessed people dancing on a billboard! Previously, videos have also been shared about youngsters performing the Keh Do Apnee Soch se Coke Jingle at different outlets like Nandos and that too was a *WOW* factor for me. My message for Coke!! I hope there is more to come…

OlFrute – Going Round the Roundabout!

Olfrute, the new fruit brand launched by Engro, has recently decorated the entire roundabout near their office with fruit shaped standees dug in the garden. Taking a right from Mc Donalds (Sea View), you will first come across the roundabout which once had 2 white horses strategically positioned there but now one horse has been forced to trot away while the other stands alone tail-less. The roundabout following the tail-less horse is the Olfrute roundabout.

I’ve started calling it that as the entire roundabout has fruits shaped standees, umbrellas, Olfrute cartons placed on it and the colours used are no less than an eye candy! I cross by every day while going to and returning from office and the roundabout has the perfect blend of scenic beauty alongside shades for the homeless. Twice i have seen people lying under their umbrella sleeping sound!

Thinking out loud: How long would this roundabout last with all the fruits in place? Is this the right roundabout to decorate considering the fact that not many people cross it and a better one would be with a high brand visibility? I guess we will have to wait and see! All in all…the idea and execution was Fruitastic!

Youth seen picking garbage at Boat Basin

I happened to stop at Boat Basin today evening for about 10 mins as my driver needed to collect mom’s dresses from the dry cleaner. While I sat in the car waiting for the driver to collect the clothes, I noticed a group of youngsters, aged between 17 to 20, collecting garbage from outside the shops.

These smartly dressed youngsters had black garbage bags in their hands and were wearing green masks to cover their mouths and gloves to cover their hands. I looked around to see how many they were and they were spread out in groups of 5 to 6 and in total, they would probably reach 20. I thought to myself that this was the type of youth we need to progress and handle the minor issues we face, throwing rubbish on the streets being one of them. But as I continued to be impressed by these kids, a thought flashed across my mind.

Have people started following them too? Have the audience/spectators started assisting them too? Have the people of Pakistan changed? Are we finally, all, being the change we want to see in the world? And there I got my answer! Obviously NOT! The most prominent spectators of this garbage picking noble cause were the waiters of the eateries (Chips Fast Food, Mr. Burger, Chick and Chips, Nihari Inn etc etc..).

These waiters, who probably are responsible for doing what these kids were doing on a daily basis, were standing in groups ridiculing these kids and pointing out where all the garbage was. I mean,** hello?**, you could pick it up if you see it, rather than considering this youth activity as Entertainment!

Sigh! We really aren’t going to change so soon. I include myself in this statement as i too did not get out of my car and give them a helping hand.

Thinking out loud, if similar activities start taking place at different parts of the city, outside our houses, on the streets, in public parks, in the regularly visited spots, maybe then we will be able to bring out the change. If there are a number of people starting a tradition, it is bound to leave some impact. *i think*/*i hope*

Anyways, All in All, I give these youngsters a standing ovation for owning Karachi!

Cyclone Phet and Sea View-A Great Combo!

I walked out of the office door with good luck and stay safe wishes from my colleagues due to Cyclone Phet which is expected to hit Sindh and Balochistan on the weekend. There have been talks going on about the intensity and the distance it has reached and not surprisingly, there have been frequent changes in the forecasts. From Thursday to now Sunday, this Cyclone, which my friends have named Cyclone Mushtaq and Cyclone Shujaat, for some odd reasons, is expected to hit Karachi.

Rumour has it that there is strict surveillance and ground security spread all over Sea View since the past 2 days but for a person who happens to cross Sea View daily to reach office and return from it, one tends to wonder, which part of Sea View are they Actually talking about. From what I saw on Thursday, there were people walking on the sand with their cars parked near the area behind Salt and Pepper. Plus, there were families enjoying not just the peaceful yet sort of green coloured sea but also enjoying the water. Some security there was…And today, Sea View seemed to have crowds of people all sitting by the shore on the benches with their eyes glued to the sea, as if, they were waiting for the Cyclone to come. Reminded me of the Tsunami and the scene where people were randomly watching the sea when the waves lost their calm. It got me to think, is only stepping in the water dangerous for the public or is it standing on the sand? Cos if the danger is from staying near the sea, then surely the safety in-charge weren’t doing their jobs. They were on Smart Horses though, trotting from one corner to the other but they were just preventing people from stepping down on the shore. If only I had a camera, this would definitely have been a PERFECT Picture.

For people who have got some source in these so-called safety and security guru agencies, feel free to let them know, that the storm doesn’t just hit the sand and the benches, it can reach the road too. An ideal thing to do would be to prevent people from enjoying the sea view (not Sea View) atleast till the sea has regained its senses.