Tuesday, March 13, 2012

PIA Ad Re Deux - 1960s PIA advertisement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1960s PIA advertisement that had been featured as the ATP Picture of the Day on 12 June, 2006 is one of the most visited blogpost to date.

We had featured a second PIA Ad from that era on June 24, 2006, which is also interesting but got considerably less attention.

Today, as I prepare to catch my PIA flight to Pakistan (this evening) I thought I might repost it. As we have commented on various occasions, the edge has come off PIA. Sometimes one wonders if the wings will too. I hope they won't; at least not today!

The crew I will encounter tonight will be wearing a different set of uniforms, but the PIA crew uniform from the 1960s has an interesting pedigree to it. That celebrated uniform is featured in this PIA ad.

According to PIA literature:

In 1966, Pierre Cardin, the renowned French fashion designer, came up with the legendary fawn and moss green summer and winter uniform edged with turquoise. The uniform consisted of a short, easy fitting "A" line tunic, slim-line trousers and imaginatively moulded dupatta that not only covered heads but also turned heads. The uniform became an instant hit, the slim-line trousers immediately were dubbed as 'PIA Pajamas'. Fashion-conscious young ladies, all across Pakistan, copied Cardin's design eagerly. This popular uniform design was used by the airline from 1966 to 1975.

Anyhow, combined with the other one, or alone, what–if anything–does this ad say about how Pakistan saw itself; then and now?

Thanks to Adil Najam / Pakistaniat / All Things Pakistan (ATP)
http://pakistaniat.com/2007/08/29/pakistan-pia-advert-ad-1960-airline-old/

 
 

1 comment:

Maher Aly said...

PIA was once of the best airlines in the world, But now its FAR BELOW THAN WORST....