Shan's latest TVC challenges gender stereotypes in Pakistan

This TVC shows men owning the kitchen and loving it

You know how they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Shan Foods' latest advertisement not only draws on this maxim but also challenges a series of stereotypes. The TVC questions Pakistani norms that dictate that kitchen is exclusively a woman’s domain and only females need to please prospective in-laws in order to be welcomed in the family.



The four minute long TVC, a deviation from the usual one minute long commercials, is a celebration of #SachaZaiqa that brings families together. The Karachiite groom-to-be, with his lean frame and an air of suavity is a world apart from his seven muscular Punjabi brothers-in-law. They happily dismiss him after he fails a series of tests. Luckily for him, he gets the chance to display his culinary prowess when the cook runs away.

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Shan’s #OneBiryaniOneFamily campaign, on a macro level, is a celebration of the power of food to unite individuals. Even the seemingly vast divide between Punjabis and Karachiites when it comes to the perpetual biryani debate is conquered. This reminds us of Shan’s earlier TVC that showed how a Chinese woman bonded with her new Pakistani neighbours over a plate of biryani.



As the damad shrugs the coat off his broad shoulders and steps into the kitchen, Shan’s creative take on gender roles takes on a new significance; masculine men and great cooks do not have to be mutually exclusive concepts. An ideal husband ensures parity in a relationship; he owns his responsibilities both inside and outside the house.



We hope Shan continues to fill our lives with pyar kai zaiqai (flavours of love) through masalas that adorn our dining tables and campaigns that touch our hearts.