The first time I heard that Kareena Kapoor would be seen in a QMobile advertisement, I got goosebumps. Though I am not a die heart fan of Bebo, I felt proud that a Pakistani brand was hiring Bollywood stars. Indeed, I was happy that the media industry here too has flourished enough to afford such expensive actors and actresses. I remember how I saved the video and watched it again and again to see whether Kareena gave her hundred percent to this commercial like she does in Indian commercials. That said, I never wanted QMobile to go for Bollywood celebrities again and again. What Q Mobile did next after seeing the rise in their sales was beyond my imagination.
The Bebo hype wasn’t over yet when the QMobile authorities just decided to drop another Kapoor into the market. This time it was Aditya Roy Kapoor, the chocolate hero of Bollywood. It did make me smile but the ad had no charm so I wasn’t very happy about it. But it did make me think: why just the Kapoors? Why not any other celebrity?
A though came into my mind, but I ignored. They’re right when they say that the sixth sense shouldn’t be ignored. My assumptions came true when the next mega star to feature for the cellphone was Arjun Kapoor. This time I was sure that there is something fishy. I intended to check the statistics of QMobile’s sale in the market and found out that the ones being endorsed by the Kapoors were the ones to make best business in the market.
My heart drowned. The fact that all the literate people working for Pakistan’s highest selling mobile phone brand would fall for luck was, for me, the shocker of the decade. But I soon realized that this was my own interpretation of the story so I cursed myself for being judgmental. I promised myself that I would no longer criticize QMobile until and unless they choose not to hire a Kapoor again. To my dismay, QMobile soon released another ad featuring the beauty queenSonam Kapoor. What better gift could QMobile give me than the satisfaction that all that I had been thinking about their strategies was right. This one after another hiring of Kapoors, irrespective of the success of their Bollywood careers and fan base, to replace Bebo as the ambassadors of this brand was making me bang my head on the wall. I had never seen such an insensible marketing strategy in my entire life, where advertisements and the chance to endorse an international brand can be handed out just for having “Kapoor” as your surname, instead of merit and talent.
It’s even sadder to see that Q Mobile is continuing with its tradition for featuring and bringing to us this endless parade of Kapoors. The selection of Shahid Kapoor, who has been falling now for the past many years, to win the hearts of the audience simply proves that there is something with the Kapoors that QMobile does not intend to reveal to its audience and secretly benefit from. I remember from the days when Indian serials and their popularity was at its peak in Pakistan, all the serials produced by Ekta Kapoor, the award winning director, used to start with the letter “K”. She revealed in an interview that the letter “K” seems to be lucky for her which urges her to do so. I am of the opinion that QMobile has been influenced by the legendary director and aims to follow in her footsteps to achieve as much success and money as she does. I would rather suggest that the dearest national brand stop hiring random Kapoors straight away hire the woman herself to achieve all the success at once.
It may be a coincidence once or twice, but a person with half a mind will not believe that QMobile hired the Kapoors five times in a row because they are more talented than other stars. Whatever is going behind the scenes, the mobile company’s marketing department must understand that it won’t work for them every time.
And what if QMobile ignores this friendly warning? Shraddha Kapoor, you’re the next lucky lady! Don’t forget to thank your father for the surname.