Bangladesh is moving into the modern world of advertisement and the brands’ marketing game has been on the rise. Brands are now more conscious of putting their A-game in front of the crowd since it is the most essential factor to win over customers from their peers and competitors. In the acknowledgment of International Mother Language Day and the very special month of February in Bangladesh – where the love for our mother tongue is abundant – these brands came out with full guns blazing in order to show their love and respect for this cultural and national heritage.

Here are some noteworthy campaigns that will stay with us in our memories for a while.

BANGLALINK

The campaign for “Boi Ghor” that Banglalink released on the month of February is for a book application that brings the works of your favorite author available to read.

The advertisement video was based on how much the authors from the past affect our lives today. It started with a sequence of transitions with new artists working their way and finding themselves lost in the works of their favorite author. Each transition theme was based on the works of famous authors like Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jibannanda Das, Humayun Ahmed, and some other great notables.

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The background music and the narration using various quotes from these authors was a huge blast from the past, a trigger of pride and comfort was pulled for every Bengali out there, it was truly a nostalgic moment to behold. The advert ends with the availability of five new Bangla authors of this generation and their availability in ‘Boi Ghor’ for the entirety of February.

While this book application is great for book lovers all over the nation, this also helps these avid readers find the latest works of these budding authors of our generation and help them grow, inspire and have more exposure into the world of books. The authors are the ones who make us feel emotions and help us dive into another world as their characters. That is the essence Banglalink held in their advert, to help us find a new us, as well as appreciate these works from the writers that existed since the very beginning.

BRAC

The campaign BRAC released in the honor of our mother language was a strong and bold advert indeed, it was a message for how diverse our language is, and how powerful words can be.

The advertisement video had bold music and narration and simple pop up words. The whole concept of this advertisement was to show how a language holds both negative and positive words. The letters through which people express their worst impressions of others can also have the most soothing words in the world.

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This advert shows how powerful the use of words can be and how carefully we should use them. In our daily lives, we hear so many that we can easily lose track of things that we say and do. However, it is an important reminder to always leave good and positive thoughts in places instead of mean remarks. The message delivered by this video was loud and clear, to give away the bad and to start with the good.

COCA COLA

In honor of the International Mother Language Day, this time Coca Cola brought out a language campaign called “Bangla Ekhon Bangla Tokhon”. There are many words in Bangla that are being used in new meanings by the current generation compared to what it meant before. This has created a concept of new Bangla and old Bangla among people. The traditional Bangla that we read in textbooks and is used by older generations might be different from the current Bangla that is used in regular conversations; but the campaign wants to mingle both and help the language be recognized more. They have opened up a voting system on whether certain words used now hold the same meaning as everyone thinks it to be so that these new additions to our vocabulary can be prominent and recognized by everyone. After all, if a language is not used to its best, words will be forgotten.

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The advertisement video, as any Coca Cola advert is filled with the staple bright red color and a catchy song with artists dancing and singing along in festive apparel celebrating the whole language of Bangla and the song goes ahead to repeat that the old Bangla to be brought to the new, and vice versa. Because at the end of the day, it is the same beautiful language we all speak and know today!

GRAMEENPHONE

Grameenphone, as usual with their out of the box creative ideas, went a step further to celebrate the International Mother Language Day and the essence of pride that everyone holds for their mother tongue. Their work also proved that language is no barrier when the feelings are there, and there are people willing to express it.

The video was the documentation of creating the famous song “Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano Ekushey February” – in multiple languages with students of Asian University for women. The students for this project were mentored by Shawon Mahmud, the daughter of Late Altaf Mahmud who was the music composer for the original song. There were seventeen students with different mother tongue and they self-composed parts of the song to hold the same meaning as the original along with keeping the same tune and rhythm.

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Languages featured in the song was Bangla, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Filipino, Burmese and Nepali. The video was extremely emotional yet so empowering to let us know that the song can transcend the barrier of different languages and share the same emotions as we do when we hear this classic masterpiece. The video was executed beautifully with narrations explaining the whole procedure behind the entire project. It was exceptionally well done, leaving the audience almost in tears and overwhelming sentiments.

PATHAO

Pathao – the transportation company didn’t leave behind while sharing the sentiments of International Mother Language Day on their social media pages. Their way of sharing their love for their mother tongue was a simple post showing respects to the martyrs of 21st February and their feelings on the day itself.

The post was designed with a simple layout with a road map in the outline of Shaheed Minar, already conveying their company message along with the sentiments of the day itself. A simple but bold quote stated about the courage and bravery of the students that went out on the very day years back just in the name of their mother tongue calling out for them.

While the message was simple, it held a deeper emotion for the audience as they know the sacrifices that went behind getting out right back to speak the language which is so near and dear to us.

MADCHEF

Madchef – the fast food restaurant and one of the famous burger joints in Bangladesh showed their respects for the International Mother Language day in a different and engaging way.

They posted a simple question, “What is the translation of burger in Bangla?” – in our native tongue. The question went trending for the day with many young social media users, especially the youth of our current generation found this to be interactive. Every response was better than the other creating an uproar for that single post. It was something that their audience could co-relate with and take part in sharing their opinions. While the post was a simple gesture to get their audience act together to find a possible word, which also led to a good number of traffic and interest in their social media page.

The restaurant also made another post on the 21st February, with a more low-key post with their signature image of a burger with black sesame seeds writing the number “21” on top, reminding their social media fans to keep their roots in their hearts with a simple quote gesturing their respects and love for the day.

NESTLE BANGLADESH

The month of February here in Bangladesh is most often referred to as the month of Bangla Language and Nestle used this as key in showing their presence in the appreciation of our mother tongue. Nestle Bangladesh throughout the entire month posted interactive posts in their social media pages with one single letter from Bangla script with a simple question “What is the first word that comes to your mind?”

Interactive social media posts like these help the current generation, as they find it more interactive and it allows them to express themselves in the best way possible, which is through social media and comments. With a great number of responses, their campaign continued and there were about seven posts made right until the 21st of February, each with a different letter and the same question. Their designs were on point; simple and detailed. Artwork of the martyrs faces in the classic Bangla print style on the Bangla letters that were extremely delicate and praiseworthy.

As a final note, they posted on their social media page a short video GIF, summing up their idea in a short campaign with their everlasting love for the language and their salutations for the International Mother Language Day.

CLICK

Click – an electrical accessories brand in Bangladesh also made its way in this list of pages contributing creatively for the International Mother Language Day. Throughout February, Click made their social media page fans interact with them in a ‘game’ setup. They presented word search games in Bangla by providing the fans with a matrix of Bangla letters and every day a particular challenge would be posted. For example, finding the names of the Martyrs or a popular slogan that they can think of that was used back in the day.

Again, these kinds of social media interactions go very well among the crowd audience and they didn’t stop there. They announced winners for these challenges giving them a reward as well; for their active participation in their games. It was a unique and different way of incorporating the Bengali language into social media posts and turning this into a fun little competition for all.

BKASH LIMITED

Every other brand took their advertisements to their social media since it is the most interactive platform to get more users engaged. However, bKash had their A-game set up as they launched their first sticker packets, Bangladeshi themed online, alongside their regular offers on various bookstores in “Boi Mela” – for the month of February in Bangladesh as well as their spring offers in many different food restaurants with multiple cash back offers.

Sticker packs or emojis have now become a staple for all conversations as this brings us one step closer to conveying emotions to the people messages are sent to, and bKash released a more colorful, vibrant and festive pack of their own which can be used in various applications like WhatsApp, Viber and Imo on the go. This has been new and clever as they share their love for the language as well as their concerns of having more vibrant conversations with the people you love.

Brands, made in Bangladesh or operating in Bangladesh, have a long-standing history of embracing the eclectic local culture on days of national pride and heritage. What struck upon this year particularly was the acute involvement of technology and social media in most of the campaigns. The amalgamation of interactive technology into resonating the conversations, needs and wants of the human soul, has been a key element in all the campaigns highlighted; which in turn represents the true spirit of brands in Bangladesh – ever resilient, ever-changing and always exploring newer terrains.

Written by Farhat Chowdhury Zishan