Ad war means to make ads against the competitor’s product. Making such ads started from countries like U.S and UK but the trend has now become famous in Pakistan as well. It looks really interesting to watch such ads as they are funny but what after affects they can have is really something we should think about.

There are a lot of companies in Pakistan which make ads against their competitors but the ones made by the cellular mobile operating companies in Pakistan are what we are going to discuss here. The CMO’s used to make ads which showed that their product is better than the competitor but they were indirect. Now they have started making ads against each other which directly criticize the other Mobile Operating Company. This unethical trend was started by Zong after its launch and still it continues to make such ads. Later other CMO’s also adopted this advertising method of making ads against the competitors.

Ufone is somehow an exception as it usually comes up with ads which are funny and based on creative ideas but it also sometimes directly criticizes the services of other cell phone operating companies in Pakistan. Even Mobilink which is the market leader and Telenor which is equipped with the most latest and updated technology use these kinds of ads to attract customers.

Ads like these are really funny and interesting and they are considered to play some role in increasing the sales of the cell phone operating companies by attracting customers of other competitors but it is really something to think about that at one place they all are entering into MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with each other for bringing more improvement in the industry and services provided to the customers whereas at another point they are making ads against each other and making fun of other network’s services and packages to show that their own services and packages are better.

This ad war between the cellular operating companies in Pakistan is really a major issue. This could affect the overall industry growth, customer’s confidence and can create serious issues among the CMO’s in Pakistan. I think Pakistan Telecommunication Authority needs to take some serious action against this ad war between the CMO’s in Pakistan for the benefit of the industry. Moreover, the CMO’s need to understand that there are a lot of other attractive and ethical ways to capture the attention of the cell phone users in Pakistan.