With an offensive Mr P as their mascot, Propaganda houses simple gifting items such as mugs, bookmarks, bottle openers, magnets, ash trays, funky tooth-shaped seats and lamps in a range of prices from Rs500 to Rs2, 000. Irfan Naveed, one of the partners at Architects Inc first encountered a Propaganda product unwittingly at Nabila’s Salon in 1994. A cheeky ashtray built to discourage smoking caught Naveed’s eye and he asked Nabila where she got it. Although she didn’t remember where it was from in Thailand, Naveed’s regular trips to the country led him to discover the store.
“We got a lot of their stuff such as ashtrays and mugs from there to serve our clients at Architects Inc and invariably every client would ask us where we got it from and if we could get it for them,” said Naveed. “So we decided why not contact the company and get a franchise for Pakistan,” added Awais Khan, another partner of the trio that forms Architects Inc.
The angular mugs on display were sold out in one day of the exhibition, and insolent wall hooks with Mr P had every guest gasp in amusement. “That’s the thing about these products. You gift it to anyone they will want to use it,” said Saad Kureishi. “It creates a buzz and people will always talk about it.” The fact that the company’s official fan page on Facebook has attracted 10,000 fans thus far is an indication that people are indeed talking about this. “It’s so innovative,” says Zahra who had come to attend the exhibition. “I love the fact that everything has such a weird twist to it,” added her friend Abeer.
Propaganda’s next stop in Pakistan will be Islamabad since 4,500 fans on their Facebook page hail from the capital. The brand will soon begin selling its wicked products online.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2011.
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