[Event]: #RealDestinations

Shell Rimula, premium heavy duty engine oil, launched a new campaign called Real Destinations. The campaign looks at the life of truck drivers and farmers of Pakistan, their dreams and aspirations and emphasizes on the hard work they put in every single day to accomplish them.

The Sadqain Gallery hosted the launch event.

Real Destinations represents the largest ever integrated marketing campaign from Shell Rimula and marks the latest step towards a more emotional global brand marketing approach. The campaign reveals the personal motivations and goals in the life of Pakistan’s truckers and farmers.

Shell Rimula has consistently worked towards empowering its consumers by providing them with premium oils that ensure engine protection against wear and tear making the journey towards reaching their dreams smooth, regardless of the driving conditions.

Commenting at the launch event of the Real Destinations campaign, Omar Sheikh, Managing Director of Shell Pakistan Limited said, “Farmers and truckers are crucial for the Pakistani economy and we applaud their efforts through the Shell Rimula – Real Destinations campaign. We acknowledge their hard work and perseverance and Shell Rimula stands by them every step of the way. We realize that our consumers for Shell Rimula depend solely on their trucks & tractors for their livelihood, our heavy duty oils have been designed to improve performance of their engines because we understand that less downtime on the roads or in the fields, means more quality time for them with their families.”

Reading by Rahat Kazmi 

The global campaign of Real Destinations has been localized and developed specially for this purpose. A television commercial is also produced to run in Pakistan by one of the most talented filmmakers of the country, Jamshed Mehmood (JAMI).

The TVC which was showcased at the event highlighted the intricate balance of life in the consumer’s everyday life. The Real Destinations campaign is currently running in 17 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, including Pakistan.

[Event]: Mr Burberry

When I got the invite for the launch event of Mr. Burberry, I some how assumed (wished) that Mr. Burberry would be there. Or perhaps I would get to take him home because you know, bloggers always get giveaways. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Nonetheless, I was not too disappointed. Our very own local as-good-as Mr.Burberry men were in attendance - Aamir Bukhari and Umair Mirza, surrounded by a bevy of beauties - Nida Moughal, Sidra Rizvi, Rabiyah Tungekar, Salima Feerasta and of course Sundus Rasheed at the Dolmen Mall Clifton outlet of Scenstsation.



The brand team tried to keep the event interesting with a scavenger hunt around the Scentsation store with a Samsung Tab as booty! Gahhhh!!! The minute someone says competition, I know I have already lost. Nonetheless, I did run around the store looking for London/Burberry themed bits and pieces, only to lose to Nida Moughal. Oh well, there will be more days for me to lose.

Taking him home

It was a small event with a lot of punch - with the unrealistically hot Mantaha Maqsood as the spokesperson. The perfume itself is something I would wear because gendered products are so last decade. And also because why would a woman not want to associate with someone called Mr. Burberry. The warm woody tones of Mr.Burberry are better than the predictable sweet florals of women's perfumes.




What really stood out for me (apart from the awesome goody bag and the hi-tea at Hakka Chine) was the hospitality of the Scentsation team. They were courteous, respectful and genuinely pleased to have us there. But I do still wish Mr Burberry was in attendance. Hopefully, the next event involves David Beckham.

[Event]: Pakistan Day Scavenger Hunt

CAREEM, Pakistan’s leading app for booking chauffeur driven cars, conducted a scavenger hunt for public of Karachi and Lahore in celebration of Pakistan Day. Themed around photography of local cultural & historic sites, the hunt saw participants, based on clues provided, racing to various locations of their respective city by utilizing CAREEM’s services.

 “Although we are a Dubai based start-up, present in 25 global cities, we are proud to say our roots can be traced back to this country, as CAREEM’s app has been completely developed in Pakistan,” said Junaid Iqbal, Managing Director – CAREEM Networks. “This scavenger hunt was planned to not only celebrate this historic day, but also to inculcate in today’s youth the need to be in touch with our roots. For this reason, we chose historic and culturally rich sites for this competition, while the aspect of uploading photographs of each site to social media allows us to promote these locations across the world.”

The monuments for the competition, as decided upon by the management, were the Quaid-e-Azam Library, Lahore Fort, Azadi Bridge, Lahore Museum and Fortress Stadium in Lahore and Pakistan Air Force Museum, Tomb of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Hindu Gymkhana, Jehangir Kothari Parade and Karachi Goan Association in Karachi.

Junaid further added, “I congratulate the winning teams and the runners-up from both cities. We hope all the participants enjoyed a fun-filled day out with their families and friends and had a great Careem experience in celebrating Pakistan Day.” 

36 participants from Lahore and 27 from Karachi were chosen to take part in this unique scavenger hunt through a prior registration process. Beginning at 11 am, the participants, along with their loved ones, went about their respective cities to take a picture of each location, upload it to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #CAREEMPAK #PakHunt #(teamname) as hashtags before moving on to the next.

Team Markhor from Karachi and Team KalaJadu from Lahore, the winners of the competition, were able to upload pictures of all the locations by 3:00PM on Wednesday, the competition’s deadline. The hunt concluded with a closing ceremony at both cities, where winners and runners-up were handed prizes by CAREEM’s Management. 

[Music] Let's Get It On Valentine's Day

Whether you are single or married, love or hate Valentine's Day, we would all like to get it on on any given day of the week. However, Valentine's Day calls for a special playlist to put you in the mood for that crazy little thing called love...


1. Citizen Cope - Holdin' On
Prepare to have your hearts and other body parts melting to the sound of this unhappy young man,

2. Beyonce - Drunk In Love

Just don't start talking about how hot Beyonce is and you'll be fine in your seduction efforts with this number

3. Strings - Bichra Yaar

For those us in long distance relationships. Play him this on Skype.

4. Scissor Sisters - Might Tell You Tonight

If you are having trouble confessing your love, let Jake Shears do it for you

5. Meghan Trainor & John Legend - Like I'm Gonna Lose You

The 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' of this time right now

Remember, all you need is love. Not necessarily a partner. More lovey-dovey music here.

[Food]: Eat For A Cause

Clearly, all of Karachi was at Karachi Eat this past weekend - going by the traffic, the number  of food related Instagram posts generated and amount of money spent in buying parking spots outside Frere Hall.

I have to admit that the event was much better managed this year. However, the festival still lacks  the kind of diversity a food festival in a city like Karachi should command. Where is the ethnic cuisine and the the international cuisine? Something for the organisers to think about perhaps,

Some outlets did experiment with their offerings - like the chocolate gol gappay and palak chat - but none of the experiments really stood out. However, Big Thick Burgers did get my attention via social media - they were offering free burgers to the street children of Karachi, one for every ten sold at Karachi Eat. A simple idea that I am surprised no one else thought of before! With all this food being consumed by the likes of us, we did not bother to consider feeding those who go hungry. And what a treat! A big, fat juicy burger from BTB!

Back to the food. So I am not a fan of burgers - they're simple creations that can go horribly wrong. But the sight of near perfect meat patties grilling on charcoal broke me.

I asked for a recommendation and was told to try The Texan. Beautiful, beautiful burger. The showstopper was the meat patty - juicy, perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of fat to lean meat mix. The entire menu was 40% off, so I'm not sure what the regular price of the meal was but this is by far the best meat I've had in a burger!

I believe a total of 180 'free burgers' were generated from the 3 days of spreading #BigThickSmiles at Karachi Eat. Why didn't we think of this before?? Here's hoping for more free burgers and a better life for our children.

[Men]: Hottest Boys Without Beards

And we use the term 'boys' very loosely here. Because these boys have more to offer than their bearded counterparts. They are smooth, suave and gorgeous in the honey on fresh cream way. Down right delicious!

This list is by no means exhaustive. Please add your own Boys Without Beards in the comments sections.

1. Daniel Craig
By far the most rugged Bond to date but still retaining the clean shaven look. This is how it's done gentlemen. He doesn't even care about the disportionate thickness of his lips... he's James Bond! But I suppose it is rare that such a man be born every 100 years or so.

Curves.

Yes. Please explain why you think beards are manly

2. Hugh Jackman

Although Jackman is best known and visualized as the rather hirsute Wolverine, there is no doubt that shaving does him well.Singer, dancer, model husband, entrepreneur, Wolverine and full time stunner - he's the kind of man most men should grow up to be. 

Hottie Next Door

I dare you to look away

3. Aaron Aziz

Singapore's darling Aaron Aziz is always the good guy, never the bearded guy. However, the most strikingly beautiful aspect of Aaron Aziz is perfectly caramel skin which makes him damn near ageless. Malay men do not age it seems. But he really needs to work on a new pose for pictures.

Am I 23 or 43?

Dah makan?

4.  Arjun Rampal

In any list of any kind of hot men, Arjun Rampal WILL be there. Doing South Asia proud, he is a classic brown beauty. However, the one aspect of his personality that is ignored is his beardless avatar. 

India Shining

Professor Rampal

5. Michael Fassbender

While it is not easy to explain the cold appeal of Michael Fassbender, most of us who do have a taste for him understand how hot the steely cold stares are.

Yes.

Hottest Grinch ever!

Honorable Mention: Tom Hiddleston

Because only Loki could make you fall in love in 20 seconds. 10 for me.

This blog post is partially inspired by the conversations about clean shaven vs bearded men at the premiere of the latest James Bond movie 'Spectre' hosted by Gillette Pakistan. Some of my friends even got their own Bond makeover. Check out the details here.

[Event] Sweet Touch Bridal Shower

Remember when I could not stop Instagramming pictures from the Sweet Touch Bridal Shower for Sana Sultan? Yeah, I am still not over it. Everything was pretty in pink, so thoughtfully put together... not just a brand handing out their product for free... but making the experience all about the bride to be - giving her and her bridesmaids a complete makeover, presents, a beautiful venue and decor and so much more! It is this kind of engagement that builds a relationship with a brand.

It was a beautiful day at Orrery. The decor was detailed yet understated. The only thing more beautiful that day was the bride herself!

Makeover under the watchful eye of the Chief Bridesmaid

                                

Presents for everyone! Yayy!

I wonder what kind of advice the bride really got *teehee*

Such a happy bridesmaid!

But first, lemme take a selfie

Is that Umair Mirza?

Isn't she lovely.

Blogstars - Amber and Umair

Too pretty to be touched!

Here's wishing Sana lots of love, joy, happiness, never putting on a pound regardless of how much cake she eats, always looking good and every shade of lipstick in the Sweet Touch collection!