Prime Minister Imran Khan launched Kamyab Pakistan Program earlier this week in Islamabad under which soft loans worth Rs. 1.4 trillion will be provided to 3.7 million families all over the country.
While the premier touted the Kamyab Pakistan Program as a ‘landmark’ program, it was widely advertised by the government through its advertising partners in both print and digital media.
However, it has come to light that a woman has sued the authorities for using her picture and publishing it all over the country in advertisements without her consent.
According to details, the woman has sent legal notices to Secretary Ministry of Finance, Principal Information Officer (PIO) of Press Information Department (PID) at Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, and Manhattan Communications Limited (MCL), the advertising agency responsible for the marketing of the program.
She has also sent copies of legal notices to Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women, Kashmala Tariq, and the Prime Minister Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU).
The woman has contended that neither did she apply for the loan under KPP nor did she grant consent to MCL for using her picture in the advertisement campaign of the scheme.
Speaking exclusively with ProPakistani, the CEO of MCL revealed that the woman is a professional model who has worked with MCL previously on several occasions.
He added that the picture of the model used in the KPP advertisement is from a previous campaign, for which she was paid as well.
While acknowledging his company’s mistake, the CEO said MCL should have signed a new agreement with the model to seek her permission for using her picture in the new advertisement.
Sadly, this isn’t the first case of its nature as it is a common practice of advertising agencies operating in the country. Normally, they use their employees as models for advertisement and don’t sign a contract with professional models. In case they do, they continue to use their pictures over the years for a number of campaigns without their consent.
Speaking in this regard with ProPakistani, CEO of Advantage Advertising, Akbar Malik, said that it is extremely unethical to use images from one campaign for another without the written agreement and consent of the models.
He advised the models to only sign the campaigns that are brand-limited and time-bound. In case the advertising agencies intend to use old images for a fresh campaign, models are entitled to a royalty fee for their pictures.
