PEMRA Bans the Latest Coke Ad Featuring “Extremism”

Coca Cola Pakistan has come under fire for its latest ad featuring ‘extremism’ as its marketing pun. The move has been widely criticized amongst the circles and Pakistanis took the beverage brand to task for playing on a sensitive term.

Taking it to Twitter, singer Jawad Ahmad was amongst the firsts to slam the brand for its latest campaign.

The new #Coke Ad is an ugly interpretation of the word ‘Extremism’.It shows how low can marketing of a brand stoop to,just to make more money.
It is dumb & immature of marketing team of Coke to use such a highly socially sensitive word so non-seriously just to sell their bottles. pic.twitter.com/FLh0oP4DTn

— Jawad Ahmad (@jawadahmadone) July 28, 2019

“The new #Coke Ad is an ugly interpretation of the word ‘Extremism’. It shows how low can marketing of a brand stoop to, just to make more money. It is dumb & immature of marketing team of Coke to use such a highly socially sensitive word so non-seriously just to sell their bottles,” said the Dosti singer on his social media handle.

Following complaints from different segments, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) took the decision to ban the ad until it is reviewed by its body.

In a notice issued to television channels, PEMRA stated,“The content of the advertisement is not only offensive but also tantamount to demeaning Pakistanis, as a nation.”

It is yet to be seen whether PEMRA bans the ad completely or allows its transmission after editing/ sorting out the matter with the marketing team of Coca Cola Pakistan.