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KABUL (SW): Inside the taxis, on the walls and even on the windows of the public buses, advertisements are everywhere, while big billboards on the corners of streets are also emerging as a popular form of advertising in Kabul.
However, some of these ads have spelling errors, and have no significant attractive words. These billboards are generally about educational centers, different trades as well as chewing gums, and various other products.
In addition to the growing population and increasing number of vehicles, Kabul is now facing an ever-increasing advertising billboards/banners. Most of the billboards and banners in Kabul are written in English, however, the contents of these ads are not free of spelling errors.
A number of residents are indifferent to such advertising campaigns. However, some residents said that the increase in the advertising billboards and banners have made the look of the capital city uglier than it was a decade ago.
This group of people believes that if these billboards or ads are in Persian or Pashto they look much better than being written in the foreign language such as English.
In the center of the city, these ads are in greater number than on the outskirts of the city. Eliass, a youngster living in the Kart-e Char area, believes that the city’s outlook can be improved by properly using the billboards and banners. However, he said that the different languages written on these billboards have tarnished the image of the capital city.
In response to my question about whether the spelling errors on the billboards promote the incorrect form of writing with spelling mistakes, Elias said Afghanistan is among countries ranked lowest in literacy rate worldwide. “There is no doubt that the common spelling errors found in the books, on the media, and urban billboards are affecting the knowledge of people”, he said.
I asked the same question from Zahra Mohammadi, another Kabul-based youngster, and she said that the increasing number of ads around the city makes the residents indifferent to them. She added that she comes across many different billboards every day, however, she is not moved by any of them.
She said that if she finds the first word or sentence on these ads attractive, then she will read the whole of it. She recommends creativity in the contents and design of the ads. “There is no creativity in the content, and no charm in the ads and billboards which are very necessary for advertising”, Zahra added.
Asad is another resident of Kabul living in Kart-e Parwan area. He said he hates the usage of English words and the spelling mistakes on the advertising banners and billboards. He urged the government to prevent the use of foreign languages on the banners and ads, and remove all the billboards and banners written in foreign languages.
These residents of Kabul urged the government, especially the Ministry of Information and Culture, to implement a standard for the billboards and banners to avoid the spelling errors.
I interviewed Saber Mohmand, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Information and Culture, and shared the concerns of the residents in this regard. He informed that a commission consisting of a few ministries and departments' representatives has been working to standardize the billboards and banners in Kabul and other provinces.
According to him, the commission will modify and correct the contents of the ads and billboards which have been issued permits by the municipality.
Although, the amount of advertising is massive in these ordinary days, however, when there is an international conference or election campaign, the number of advertising billboards and banners further explodes, and Kabul looks like a photo exhibition center. These ads then remain on the corners of streets and on crossroads for months.
ENDS
