Overview

Advertising in
Bangladesh
Md. Mahabub Alom
Course Instructor
 The structure of the industry
Pioneers in the field such as Bitopi, East Asiatic (now
Asiatic), and Interspan entered the market almost
simultaneously in the year 1967. Other advertising
companies started operating after independence. more
than 70% of the formal market share is held by the top
nine advertising agencies of the country. These
agencies, in descending order of market share, are
Adcomm, Asiatic, Bitopi, Unitrend, Grey, Interspeed,
Popular, Madona, and Matra. Other advertising agencies
claim only about 13% of the market share, while the rest
is accrued to in-house advertisement of business firms
and enterprises.
 Advertisement media in Bangladesh can
be classified into two categories based on
the placement strategy
Above the Line (ATL) category ATL includes
newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and satellite
and cable television.

and Below the Line (BTL) category- includes event

management, in-house advertisement (company
performing own advertisement) at point of purchase,
outdoor advertisement (billboards, hoarding, neon
signs, and bell signs), innovative activities (jatra, street
drama) and advertisement on vehicle bodies or fliers.

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Media spending of the industry
Figure : Advertising Expenditure

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Categories Televisio Radio Print
n Media
Telecommunication 841 32.80 252.14
Ready Foods 640 15.08 26.04
Cosmetics &Toiletries 545 17.74 31.51
Housing & Real Estate 259 0.00 129.72
Consumer Products 210 6.72 8.73
Construction Materials 174 1.74 54.70
Beverage 164 5.54 12.83
Electric & Electronics 102 4.46 68.82
Public Awareness 94 5.98 0.00
Banking Services 70 2.14 240.12
Total (in million taka) 3099 92.21 824.62
 Exchange relationship of advertising with
the TV, cinema
Tinni: Model in ad clips Character in TV play Affiliated model
1.
2. Mahfuj: Character in TV play Intending to produce films
3. Tania Ahmed: Model in ad clips Character in TV play Producer
4. Api Karim: Model in ad clips Character in TV play
5. Bipasha Hayat: Model in ad clips Character in TV play Co-producer of TV play
6. Romana: Model in ad clips Character in TV play
7. Ferdous: Ramp model Hero in movies Intends to produce films in future
8. Dighi: Child model in ad clip Character in cinema
9. Asaduzzaman Noor: Cultural worker Character in TV play Producer Member
of Parliament
10. Momotaj: Folk singer Model in ad clips Member of Parliament
11. Afjal Hossen : Character in TV play Ad Producer Character in move
12. Mou: Model in ad clips Character in TV play
13. Apurbo: Model in ad clips Character in TV play
14. Afsana Mimi: Model in ad clips Character in TV play
15. Mim: Child model in ad clip Character in TV play
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16. Masud Hassan: BBC reporter Actor in short film and TV play Ad
modeling
 Journalism and Advertising
In journalism the texts can be interesting, educational, shocking,
funny and simply
But advertising face a real challenge because for understanding
advertising spot it is essential to use all acquired knowledge,
experience of life and competence of making analogies.
Even the language of advertising is different from the language of
journalism because advertising is concerned with creating image
for which the language is rhetoric on the other hand journalism is
concerned with the bear truth and the language is descriptive.
Journalism gives the photographic image of the reality
advertising inform what happens in fictional worlds through
symbolic influence.

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The recent phenomenon of
Now the advertisements not only communicate a piece of
product information but also provide the audience with much
Advertising in Bangladesh
amusement and fun.
Many of the advertisements exhibit constructive nuances
contributing to the body of Bangladeshi advertisements.
The advertisements recorded and analyzed revealed some

flaws and faults.

Cultural elements put forward by advertisements today are
hedonism (the eat-drink-and-enjoy stance of life), beauty-
consciousness, confidence, competition, self expression,
individualism, self establishment, romance etc.
Advertising has remodeled the form of patronization today.