The eighth edition of the Effie Awards Pakistan

Karachi, Saturday, April 26, 2025 – The eighth edition of the Effie Awards Pakistan, one of the country’s premier marketing and advertising events, was held at the Karachi Expo Centre on April 26, 2025. The event was organized by the Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS).

With an audience of over 800 people, the event brought together a wide spectrum of professionals from the marketing and advertising fields. Esteemed individuals in attendance included Ms. Farheen Salman, President BSPAN, Lipton Teas and Infusions; Saleem Baig, Chairman PEMRA; Syed Ali Akbar, Managing Director & CEO, Pakistan Tobacco; Noor Jehan Bilgrami, a visual artist and curator of Pakistan Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan; Asad Umar, Former Finance Minister; Amir Paracha, Chairman Unilever Pakistan; Asif Aziz, President Business Enterprise JAZZ; Senator Sarmad Ali; Kashan Hasan, Managing Director Friesland Campina; Ahmed Kapadia, Chairman PAA; Hamidah Wali, CMO Tapal Tea; Rifah Qadri, Executive Director Marketing, Easypaisa Digital Bank; and Iyshah Faizan, General Manager Brands & Communications, PSO. Many of them also participated in presenting awards to the winners.

During her speech, Farheen Salman, Chairperson PAS, passionately highlighted the importance of marketing and acknowledged Syed Ali Akbar, one of Pakistan’s top marketers, for his time and commitment as a Jury Chair. She also praised the tireless contributions of PAS, particularly its council members, along with Qamar Abbas (Executive Director) and Afsheen Rizavi (General Manager), for their dedication to building a robust and forward-looking marketing ecosystem.

Effie Awards 2025 opened for submissions in mid-September 2024 and received 531 campaign entries. Among these, 32 Bronze, 36 Silver, and 18 Gold awards were handed out. PMCL (Jazz) emerged as “Marketer of the Year,” while Adcom Pvt. Ltd. took home the “Agency Network of the Year” title. K-Electric secured the “Grand Prix” for its campaign Fark Parta Hai, and Alt Story was recognized as the “Most Effective Independent Agency” for the first time.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sarfaraz A Rehman, an esteemed industry figure with a legacy of work at leading companies such as Engro Fertilizers and PepsiCo Pakistan.

Continuing the tradition at the Effies, this year Effie paid a heartfelt tribute by observing a moment of silence in memory of Ibrahim Baloch and Shahid Bin Aziz, two industry stalwarts we lost this year.

This year, the Effies invited the winners of the Pakistan Young Lions Competition, Muhammad Ibrahim, Pazirish Zehra, Mohsin Tariq, and Shafique Ahmed, to take the stage to present the Effie Awards.

Qamar Abbas, Executive Director, PAS In his speech, acknowledged the unwavering support of esteemed partners, including PepsiCo, EBM, Unilever, National Foods, Indus Motors, Tapal, Jubilee Life Insurance, Jafferjees, Foodpanda, Jang and Media Idee who have consistently backed PAS in making the Effie Awards a success year after year. He noted this year marked a milestone with Jack of Digital, a first-time sponsor, who arranged the gift bags for all participants. Qamar Abbas also expressed heartfelt appreciation to the event organizers, Keys Production, and Shabnam Abdullah, as well as his dedicated PAS team, comprising Afsheen, Samreen, Abdullah, Moiz, Amna, and Gopal, whose collective efforts made the event possible.

Host of the night was the ever-charismatic Dino Ali — a well-known VJ and musician with over two decades of experience in the entertainment industry.

This year, PepsiCo Pakistan, the Title Sponsor of the event, kept all the attendees cool and in good spirits by giving out cold beverages. English Biscuit Manufacturers, the official bakers of the event, set up an EBM Bakery serving delightful savories to the guests. Tresemme and Ponds were the style and beauty partners. National Foods Limited was the hors d’oeuvres sponsor and enthralled the guests with their mouthwatering delights. Indus Motors were the support partners and Jubilee Life Insurance was the official Insurance Partner. Jafferjees, continuing their long-standing partnership with Effie Pakistan, sponsored the jury sessions. Food Panda was the official Q-Commerce partner.

The event was managed by Keys Productions. Jang Media Group, Symmetry Group, Media Idee, Alkaram, PSO, Brandsynario, Synergizer, Nukta and TikTok were all esteemed partners and contributed in putting on a great show.

A live performance by Maanu added vibrancy to the night, making the event not only a celebration of achievement but also a valuable opportunity for networking and industry engagement. This year’s ceremony featured a centrally positioned round stage, allowing all the guests to be closer to the action, and celebrating the impactful campaigns and ideas that have defined excellence in the marketing and advertising landscape.