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Iran's Stars, Erased From the Billboards
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Keramati is also a UNICEF ambassador, working for children's rights in Iran. The Iranian government has no problems with her charity work, she said. "But as a female actress, I was already prohibited from doing commercials," she said. "The new ruling actually makes women and men equal."
Some ads in Iran do feature women. Billboards show modestly veiled actresses, but only promoting their own movies. TV commercials for detergents and food also use women, who are mostly portrayed as ideal housewives.
Ads for perfume, body lotion and even shampoo cannot use female models because they might show parts of the body that should be hidden, according to the government's version of Islam. It is also forbidden to emphasize beauty in commercials for fear of prompting "corrupted thoughts."
But satellite channels operating from the United Arab Emirates and the United States routinely broadcast ads and fashion shows with unveiled women.
The Dubai-based Persian Music Channel, one of the most popular of about 30 satellite stations aimed at Iran, airs all kinds of video clips, from American rap music to Persian pop from Los Angeles. CEO Mehrdad Esmaili Kia prefers name-brand advertisers such as Sony, Samsung and Philips to Iranian brands that use local movie actors and sports stars. "These ads are often very poorly made," Kia said. "They look cheap."
The channel did, however, start an interview program with Iranian movie stars and sports figures. In the coming months, the station will speak with Nasser Hejazi, the coach of Esteghal, a Tehran soccer team. Niki Karimi, an award-winning actress, has given an interview.
"They really stick their necks out," Kia said of the interviewees. "I hope they won't be rebuked."
The Rezazadeh commercial is still airing on the satellite channel. The weight lifter, 30, had hoped to compete in next month's Olympic Games in Beijing but withdrew Friday for medical reasons.
"I saw Rezazadeh's commercial and thought it was interesting," said Keramati, the UNICEF ambassador. "These were only the first steps of famous Iranians in the field of advertising. In time, the ads could have been more professional, but this time was not given to us."
