Bearded men and women with covered heads replace flirting boys and girls in an attempt to exploit customers' religious sentiments during the annual Muslim holiday of observance.
"This has been a trend for some years," said Sardar Zaheer Zaufran, general manager at an Islamabad-based agency that produces advertisements for both television and print media.
"People's way of life changes during this month," said Zaufran, who has been in the advertising business for 13 years. "And that's what companies try to exploit."
Even some of the most popular multinational brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald's want their advertisements during Ramazan to be wrapped in a message touching the faith, he explained. Pakistan has been experiencing a radicalized society in recent years, analyst Fida Khan said.
"This radicalization can be seen at its peak on all occasions related to religion like Ramazan," said Khan, who is based in Peshawar.
His argument is echoed by Imran Khan, an employee of a bank that offers Shariah-compliant products.
"Our clientele increases dramatically during Ramazan," said Khan.
"People think their money will be purified if they bank with an Islamic institution."
Even conventional banks and some manufacturers offer incentives like free trips to Saudi Arabia for their clients. Merchandisers even bend the rules to target customers' inclination towards religion.
At least three retailers in Rawalpindi city told dpa that companies sell locally produced dates falsely labelled as imported from Makkah or Madina.
Dates are considered an integral part of the Muslim meal in Ramazan.
Pakistan's emerging television industry has taken the trend of using religious sentiments as a marketing tool to a new level, earning a mix of praise and criticism. Dr Aamir Liaquat whose Ramazan television show made global headlines last year rejected allegations that he is commercializing the faith.
"This is not commercialization," Husain said. "If we try to spread religion through mass media, nobody should have any objection."
His show on the Geo television channel was criticized for offering babies to childless couples.
Husain is preparing for another daily show this year for another channel. Most religious scholars are in favour of what they call preaching of Islam through mass media. But some say religion is too sacred to be used as a marketing tool.
"I think once you involve religion in business, to gain the attention of customers or whatever, then it is hard to stop before it becomes a product itself," said Islamic scholar Mufti Muhammad Ashraf. The analyst Khan said the use of religion for banking, business and television shows is likely to aggravate Pakistan's problem of radicalization.
"How can you motivate people to become religious one month and stop them from continuing the rest of the year?" he said.
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