Brilliant dubbers, brilliant brand managers and the Indian advertisers

Unilever, Reckitt, Nestle-- who is not in the league. Bangladeshi TV screens are tirelessly airing Made in India TVCs. No wonder dubbing jobs carried on by Asiatic or Adcomm requires ‘praise’. Press insertions are also snapped from TVCs. Billboards, tri-vision, neon signs, shop signs, posters, festoons, buntings all are derived from the same source. Even shows like Closeup1 ‘tomakei khujche…’ are also ‘inspired’ by Indian idol or American idol. All this replication is being treated as advertisements instead of mere dubbing! MNCs in Bangladesh are full with dubbing managers, rather than having marketing managers or brand managers. Should we rename the division 'dubbing division', and the heads as, director- dubs and developments. May we ask Philip Kotler to write 13th edition of his marketing management as Bangladesh Special where 'chapter-dubbing' will replace 'chapter-integrated marketing communication & promotion.' Amidst all this rub-and-dub, I wonder where the room is for creativity and innovation. Corporates might argue in favor of having uniform advertisements across socially or culturally homogeneous regions in order to cut cost, but that surely happens at the cost of letting go local uniqueness, celebrity endorsements etc.

by Azad. A. Kalam