Saddia Mazhar
Islamabad,
“I am a father of two and has the responsibility of an independent home to run , but
out of job , in search of every possibility to bring bread and butter for my Children
“said Aleem Ahmed a resident of Satellite town Rawalpindi. Aleem is a recent Victim of
Chinese based Company Tiens, Parent company is Tianshi International. A Chinese
based company which deals in herbal products in Pakistan.
“The Company approaches the people by sending an SMS that the said person is being
short listed for an interview and please visit their office along with CV and CNIC copy.
After the interview, two day training is given to every person about the products and the
pricing model. A team of 7 persons is made to develop a team independently and
multiply the team member by calling and inviting them to the office. After that the
company asks to purchase their product of Rs. 35000/- and to says that this will
automatically allow every purchaser to participate in a luck draw for a 1000Cc car” Said
Aleem.
Aleem quitted the Company as I was suggested by my friend and family because of the
possibility of scamp.
Yes, Tiens and such companies are scamp. According to Securities and Exchange
Commission of Pakistan People are suggested not to invest in Such Companies. Back in
2008 The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan asked National
accountability Bureau (NAB) to initiate inquiry against alleged illegal activities by
various businesses. They include Tianshi International, AR Enterprises and Ahsan
Enterprises Karachi. The Inquiry was authorized against M/s Tianshi International
Pakistan Co (Pvt) Ltd on a complaint filed by the Securities & Exchange Commission of
Pakistan (SECP).The company was accused of giving deceptive incentives to prospective
buyers of their products .The Executive Board authorized inquiries against the
proprietors of AR Enterprises and Ahsan Enterprises on the basis of Suspicious
Transactions reported to NAB by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).Both the entities
were suspected to be involved in fraud in obtaining rebates. The amount of the fraud is
said to be over Rs. 50.000 million.
Here the question arises that how they get the contact details of people and does people
complaint against Tiens. ON Contacting the Office of Pakistan Telecommunication
authority (PTA) , the official said that they have received no complaint against Tiens and
Such Networking marketing companies till date.
Tiens is effectively Using the Deceptive Marketing and advertisement Tools. Today the
environment in the advertising industry is swiftly changing, becoming more digitized
and is able to reach the consumer 24/7, no matter where he or she is. Modern
advertising utilizes a barrage of non-stop stimuli from text messages, website banners,
pop-ups, television, flyers, billboards, unsolicited E-mails, company websites etc.
Although this has increased the degree of choice available to consumers, it has also left
them more compliant to messages which lack integrity.
According to a study on average every Pakistani watch 10 to 15 adds every day. It means
that he / she spend at least 5 to 10 minutes daily in first watching the particular add and
then additional 15-20 minutes in evaluating and making Judgment about the product.
Ahmed, a six year old Child Loves two Television Advertisements just because they
include the personalities he loves the most. A well-known Soda Drink advertisement
which shows Fawad Khan famous actor, Model and now Singer as well who has high fan
following at national and international level drinking and promoting sugar filled soda
while being a diabetic himself and Wasim Akram being a known diabetic eating cakes
and other sweet products made by cream of well-known dairy brand. Now everyone
knows that regular carbonated drinks are filled with sugar like anything and cream is
used to make sweets unless you mention it’s a low sweet or a product specially made for
diabetics. First it is immoral for these two stars to appear in this act as they cannot
themselves consume these products; this is also a case of deceptive marketing and
surely putting a negative , non realistic impact on the child’s mind and behavior.
Deceptive marketing practices are increasing and the manufacturing and advertising
companies are truly playing with the emotions and sentiments of general people.
ON contacting the Official of The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
(PEMRA)told that in 2019 PEMRA issued an advice to all satellite TV channel licensees
regarding the airing of indecent and misleading healthcare/fitness related
advertisements of various products for weight loss, hair growth, loosing body fats,
improving complexion, treatment for infertility , energy drinks , Certain Mil adds,
Supplements etc.. Airing of such content, it noted, is in violation of Section 20 (b), (c) &
(f) of PEMRA Ordinance 2002 as amended by PEMRA (Amendment) Act 2007 and
2018, Rule 15(1) of PEMRA rules 2009 and Clause 3 (1)(e), 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 of
Electronic Media (Programmers and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015, as well as
Indecent Advertisement Prohibition Act 1963.
“These advertisements are unequivocally, misleading and hazardous to public safety and
health and are severely criticized by the general public on Pakistan Citizen Portal (PCP)
and PEMRA complaint call center,” the authority of PEMRA informed.
Adding further the PEMRA Official said that all satellite TV channels are, therefore,
advised to stop such advertisements immediately to comply with the provisions laid
down in PEMRA laws and the Electronic Media Code of Conduct 2015. In case of any
violation, strict action will be taken by PEMRA.
Talat an educated Girl of 25 Years of age who lives in Ghauri Town Islamabad, used a
weight losing medicine which she saw on Social Media. Instead of losing the weight the
medicine had an irreversible harmful effect on her Kidney. It is not the story of Talat
Only. There are countless of such eye-opening incidents.” What I have done to myself
after watching a fake add of weight losing medicine cannot be explained in words. The
Kidney medicine is part of my life” Talat said.
Commercial advertisers often seek to increase the consumption of their products or
services through “branding”. This involves associating a product name or image with
certain qualities in the consumers mind. Non-commercial advertisers who invest in the
advertisement of items other than a consumer product or service include political
parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit
organizations may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as public service
announcements.
Most Developed Countries have strict legislations which check and penalize deceptive
advertisers; in 2010 the government of Pakistan passed a law known as the Competition
act. Section 10 of the Act prohibits deceptive marketing practices which distribute false
or misleading information. This has the potential to harm another party’s business
interest and makes misleading comparisons of goods or allows the fraudulent use of
other trademark, brand or packaging.
As The Victim of Fake or Deceptive marketing is not only the people but it affects the
market and financial interest of small businesses to big industries. Nestlé Pakistan
Limited approached the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to initiate an
inquiry into Engro Foods Limited for misleading consumers and engaging in deceptive
marketing practices under the Competition Act 2010.
Nestlé Pakistan alleged that Engro Foods had launched a marketing campaign to
promote its newly launched product Olper's Full Cream Milk Powder, wherein it made
claims relating to the quality, efficacy and nutritional value of Nestlé Pakistan's product
Nestlé Nido Forti Grow. Further, a TV ad for Olper's Full Cream Milk Powder had,
among other things, shown a pack of yellow dairy-based formula, pictorially identical to
the well-recognized pack of Nestlé Pakistan's Nido Forti Grow, and made deceptive,
false and misleading assertions.
The CCP Inquiry Committee investigated each allegation raised by Nestlé Pakistan held
that Engro Foods' conduct had created a false impression regarding Nestlé Pakistan's
Nido product range and that such behavior can affect the consumer decision-making
process, which may give Engro Foods an unfair advantage and harm Nestlé Pakistan's
business interests. Therefore, Engro Foods was found to have violated Section 10(2)(a)
of Competition Act (ie, the distribution of false or misleading information that is capable
of harming the business interests of another undertaking).
According to the spokesperson of CCP , the Commission has imposed hundreds of
Million penalty on electric cable manufacturers, Pharmaceutical Companies, dairy
industry, Cola Dink manufacturers etc for violating Section 10 of the Competition Act,
2010 . In addition the incentive base advertisement of product is also prohibited by
government of Pakistan Considering the significance of advertising in modern society,
there should be comprehensive research for improvement in the quality and integrity of
advertising in this country. The advertising scene in Pakistan has its share of
misleading, untrue, immoral, derogatory and culturally offensive advertisements. The
adverse consequences of such advertisements are unquantifiable but enormous. Such
advertisements not only persuade consumers to make wrong and uninformed choices
but also negatively promote people into accepting injustices inflicted upon them without
protest.
Today when the world is fighting against the Corona Virus Specially China, Europe
and Asia. The Companies are using deceptive making tools to sell the product. Dettol an
anti-septic product which is well known in Pakistan is selling its product with the
description that it prevents from Corona Virus. According to the company Dettol is one
way you can protect yourself from getting the new strain of corona virus. When it was
investigated it was found corona virus is the name for a large family of viruses that cause
illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as SARS.