Changes in Attitudes towards Advertising: 2007- 2018 Evidence from the New Generation Bangladeshi Consumers

This paper presents a comparison of the attitudes of New Generation Bangladeshi consumers (18 - 24 years old) towards advertisement 10 years apart - in 2007 and 2017. Within five years of gaining independence in 1971, Bangladesh abandoned her socialistic path of economic development to adopt the capitalistic alternative. By the early 2000s, the country experienced substantial economic growth which resulted in the emergence of a “new rich urban consumer class. To attract these consumers, the then infant advertising industry in Bangladesh started to grow at a fast pace; but neither the marketers nor the advertisers had a clear understanding of the attitudes of these consumers towards advertising. In 2007, I conducted an empirical research that examined the perception of these consumers on various aspects of advertising as well as their media usage behaviour.Bangladesh economy made spectacular progress during the last decade resulting in the fast-paced development of a better organised consumer market and a thriving advertising industry to support the current new generation Bangladeshi consumers who are more affluent, technology savvy and who seek better information. This study examines the perception of these consumers on various aspects of advertising as well as their media usage behaviour and compares them with the responses of their cohorts of 2007. The analyses of the data reveal discernible differences in the attitudes of the two similar groups. The paper tries to explain the reasons for the differences and argues that they have important implications for the consumer marketing and advertising industry in Bangladesh.