History of Advertising in Pakistan
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a historical overview of advertising in Pakistan and highlight major developments within a particular era. Design/methodology/approach The author uses discourse analysis to present the dynamics in the marketplace that have changed the way advertising has been practiced in this region. It also includes experiences working with advertising professionals and academicians around the Pakistan. Findings The development and evolution of advertising have been extraordinary in Pakistan. Started as less than 1000 industry inflated to several billion dollars industry in just sixty four years. Over the period of time the advertising industry underwent different phases of evolution. These phases can be categorized on the bases of major socio political conditions prevailing in the country. First Era (1947 1964) Characterizes by small number of players in the newly formed advertising industry; very few businesses taking advantage of advertising techniques; advertising reach limiting to mainly urban geographic regions; advertising medium limited to print ads; Radio emerged as new promising advertising media. Second Era (1964 1978) Arrival of television stations made a drastic change in the existing advertising practices. The new visual messaging services seemed more attractive and effective source of communication. Third Era (1978 1988) New advertising ideologies took over the old ones. The color TV broadcast and classical jingles made it a vintage era. Fourth Era (1988 1998) New graphic technologies were used to facilitate the limited time frame concepts. Fifth Era (1998 2008) The rise of golden age witnessed modern advertising and visual effects. Industry growth increased 500 times with talents and man power. Sixth Era (2008 2010) Animations, Indian production and Indian celebrities highlighted the glamorous era. Global recession felt and low budgeted advertising industry tier produced low rate and below par advertisements.Practical implications Based on their interests, users of this study have been classified into two distinct categories, i.e. academics and corporate users. Academics may find this research instrumental in their teachings and research activities. The corporate users may act as mentors for this research by sharing their relevant experience and may note lessons for their corporate practices. Originality/value After examining the literature, the researcher could not identify meaningful research on advertising in Pakistan and more specifically its history. To fill the gap this research salient features of advertising evolution in Pakistan.