Daily TimesYour right to knowPublished on: October 31, 2026 2:20 AMOctober 31, 2026 by Muhammad Shaban Rafi and Ayesha SaddiqaSince the proliferation of social media in Pakistan, almost all brands, big or small, do digital marketing. They invest heavily in their marketing campaigns to create an urgent desire among customers to purchase a product. There is no exact figure for digital ad spending in Pakistan, but a rough estimate is 720 million USD. Once we engage with a product for a few seconds, the algorithmic capabilities of digital platforms repeatedly pop-up the same or similar product for us, in a way reinforcing the desire to purchase it. Moreover, the choice of visuals and language makes a product worth exploring. Now, with the presence of AI influencers, there is a substantial increase in the intensity of digital marketing. It is not uncommon to find that AI technologies are increasingly used to sell products.Customer reviews provide insights into product quality and consumer satisfaction. However, brands influence their customers to post positive comments and selectively moderate negative comments. In this context, the Voice of Customer digital forum has provided a space to people where we can find both positive and negative comments of various products. Such interactions contribute to the discursive hyperrealization of digital marketing.When promotional claims acquire more valency than their material referents, digital marketing contributes to post-truth communication, albeit a proliferation of deception or mirage.To explore this hyperreal digital marketing, we selected three products of very well-known international brands, representing the food, apparel, and automobile industries. Our focus was to analyze their persuasive language and customers’ reviews following their purchases. While these brands moderate comments, we have to choose an independent forum: the Voice of Customer for this analysis. This approach enabled us to examine how customers support or contest the idealized representations of products.Interestingly, the analysis of a fast-food brand shows that they extensively use sensory vocabulary, e.g., crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, to represent an idealized experience of their food consumption. The iterative use of adjectives, e.g., delicious, crispy, and creamy, evokes imagined sensory experiences among customers. Moreover, expressions such as tender chicken breast, golden, crispy fried chicken, bite-sized treats, world-famous crispy fries, unique and unforgettable taste, and a royal experience signify desirable taste, image, experience, and status. Eventually, an ordinary fast-food product elevates its customers to an extraordinary status and exclusivity provided that they purchase these eatables. Nevertheless, customers’ comments reveal contradictory lived experiences, e.g., the burger literally tastes like chemicals. Some of them reinterpreted and amplified the promotional language of the fast-food brand, such as top-notch burger, just amazing, spicy, grand.The analysis of an apparel brand demonstrates that they capitalize consistently on three discursive patterns such as sensory appeal, visual aesthetics, and durability to construct an idealized image of product. Expressions such as comfortable, soft, smooth, silky, breathable, and lightweight create sensory anticipation. Moving beyond observable fabric characteristics, words such as luxurious, elegant, fancy, and timeless associate clothing with sophistication, prestige, and fashion. Rather than promoting customer satisfaction, the focus of quality assurance remains on reinforcing broader claims such as wrinkle-resistant, premium, sustainable, and durable. One of the customers complained that the material of the dupatta is very cheap and the colors do not even match the overall dress. Another said I did not face any issues while purchasing articles from the same brand. Yet another advised, “always buy visiting store.”The analysis of an automobile demonstrates technological sophistication, product reliability, and experience in their promotional representations. The adjectives cutting-edge, bold, reimagined, futuristic, and innovative position vehicles within an imagined future of advanced mobility. The descriptions such as exhilarating performance and smooth, effortless glide attract buyers to imagine the driving experience instead of mechanical performance, availability and cost of spare parts, and warranty specifications. A customer review challenged the idealized futuristic discourse by complaining that after the vehicle’s 25,000-kilometre service, the vehicle stopped charging. The dealership refused a warranty because the charger was not installed by the recommended vendor. Another customer said, “I drive the same vehicle and have a great experience so far.”The overall analysis reveals some distinctive patterns in discursive hyperrealization of digital marketing. While conducting a deeper analysis, we find the number of negative comments outnumbers the positive ones. Even the language of positive comments demonstrates similar patterns. There is a fair chance these comments might have been moderated. There is also an overwhelming use of adjectives and unique descriptive terms. However, the food brand employed the highest number and variety of terms, followed by automobile and apparel. Interestingly, the use of adjectives idealizes product representations and acquires meanings beyond their actual referents. This is a condition that generates hyperreal discourse.Persuasive representations of products are not entirely new, as newspapers, magazines, television, or billboards have long been used to influence consumer choices. What distinguishes digital marketing is rapid, repetitive, personalized, and idealized representations that influence consumers to buy a product even if they do not want to. Eventually, most, if not all, online customers suffer from low satisfaction. In principle, when promotional claims acquire more valency than their material referents, digital marketing contributes to post-truth communication, albeit a proliferation of deception or mirage.It is, therefore, essential for these brands to focus on the quality of their products rather than reinforcing a hyperreal discourse, which raise questions about product quality, cooperate accountability, and consumer trust. However, by ensuring consistency between promotional claims and material product quality, brands can strengthen customers’ trust that is a valuable asset for sustainable business.The first author is a Professor of English at Riphah International University, Lahore. He is a lead guest editor at Emerald and Springer publishing.The second author is an Assistant Professor of English at Govt. Graduate College for Women, Samanabad, LahoreFiled Under: Op-Ed Tagged With: digital, Hyperreal, Pakistan
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