According to recent reports, a divorce takes place every hour in Dhaka city. In the last decade, the divorce rate has increased by a massive 34% throughout the country, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Some of the most common reasons stem from an inability to maintaining a conjugal life, drug addiction, extra marital affairs, incurable diseases, physical assault, dowry, premature marriage and infertility. Yet age old notions about divorce exist widely and very often women, especially, are stigmatised, even today. Somehow, the label of ‘divorcee’ is a social red flag, a mark one can’t remove. Breaking the taboo of divorce is essential, but so is giving hope and highlighting the importance of self love. It’s impossible to move forward, fight social stigmas or face scrutiny if we can’t at first love ourselves. Here, we celebrate self love on Valentines Day. The hardest and the most rewarding form of affection is what we show ourselves. GrameenPhone is the largest telecom company in Bangladesh and growing every day. It’s campaigns impact millions, creating a natural social responsibility. This particular campaign has struck a chord with many. It is important to remember that: life will often be unkind to us, so being kind to ourselves is the least one can do.

Film advertisement created by Asiatic, Bangladesh for Banglalink, within the category: Electronics, Technology.

For hundred of years, women of Ghuddirdanga, a remote village situated in Satkhira District- Bangladesh, had been fighting against the “Mohajons” (intermediaries) for the right price of their produced goods. Moreover, they were struggling to get the expected outcome compared to their efforts due to the lack of proper knowledge regarding modern farming methods. A local entrepreneur came forward to solve the problems of this women and started collecting dairy products from these women for his dairy shop at right price. To strengthen this initiative, Shwapno, the largest retail chain of Bangladesh, has undertaken a great project with the help of USAID where an expert trains these Ghuddirdanga's women how to farm, milk, preserve, transport and sell in a hygienic and appropriate method. Because of this project, the women now know the details of modern farming and their overall milk production been increased significantly. This collaboration does not end here, Shwapno has decided to distribute dairy products, made from the raw milk provided by Ghuddirdanga, through its numerous outlets under the “SHUDDHO” brand. Finally the incredible women of this locality rightfully received what they deserved and furthermore.

Film advertisement created by Grey, Bangladesh for UCB, within the category: Finance.

A win is only a win when you've experienced loss. The Bangladesh Premiere League (BPL) is one of the most exciting sporting events of the nation with fans passionately rooting for their teams to win. When most BPL campaigns for teams focus on winning, the "Khulna Titans- Beyond Winning" campaign looks at a more vulnerable side to competitive sports. Behind every win there are countless losses. Failures, hardships and unimaginable odds shape us into the heroes we have the potential to be. Instead of a video solely promoting the joy and celebration of winning, we explore the vulnerability of failing, the power of hope in times of despair. The campaign portrays an honest look at the importance of failure by exploring the insecurities and hardships a cricketer faces in training. The true spirit of cricket is much larger than winning, it’s about hope and perseverance.Everyone has the capacity to be a winner. Only through indomitable will and undying effort they can conquer what is deemed hopeless and unattainable. In the cutthroat world of Bangladeshi cricket where everyone is determined to win, the message of growth through hardship is a phenomenal one - an intimate yet bold statement. Film advertisement created by Mediumrare, Bangladesh for Khulna Titans, within the category: Sports.

What’s the best wedding gift a parent can give? BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, celebrates 16 Days of Activism - and one of its targets is raising awareness about domestic violence. A Bengali wedding is a joyous occasion, rich in culture and festivities - but what follows isn’t always happily ever after. Seven out of ten women face violence at the hands of their husbands, at least once. What can make matters worse is not having one’s family’s support in such times. A common tradition in South Asian weddings is to see the ceremony as a “send off” for the bride, now considered part of a whole new family. The biggest gift that a parent can give their daughters on their wedding day is thus, simply reassurance - knowing there’s always a home to come back to, a safe space to share one’s life. Another goal of BRAC’s campaign is also redefining masculinity. With media rampantly depicting toxic masculinity, or pointing fingers at it, it is refreshing to have positive aspirational portrayals of male figures - like a father lovingly looking out for his daughter. A little compassion and support goes a long way in changing lives. Sometimes, it’s the best possible gift we can give to our loved ones. Film advertisement created by medium rare, Bangladesh for BRAC, within the category: Public Interest, NGO.

The Gas Saving Burner, a stove that burns gas and saves it as well! This stove uses a very simple and cost effective mechanism, pressure lever, found everywhere in the local market. A pressure lever is adjusted to the gas pipe and activates the stove fire upon getting the pressure from the cooking utensil. Upon removal of the cooking vessel, the lever stops the gas flow. Direct advertisement created by Grey, Bangladesh for RFL Gas Stove, within the category: House, Garden.

Ambient advertisement created by Grey, Bangladesh for HMBR, within the category: House, Garden.

Bangladesh is the only country to have shed blood for the rights to language. In 21st February 1952, several University Students sacrificed their lives in protesting against the then ruling Government decision of imposing Urdu as the only state language of Bangladesh (Then East Pakistan). Recognizing such a noble act by the language martyrs, UNICEF, in 1999, decided to declare 21st February as the International Mother Language Day. Bangladeshis today recognize the song ‘Amar Bhai er Rokte Rangano Ekushe February” (My Brother’s Blood Spattered on 21st February) as the most influential musical piece remembering the sacrifice made by the martyrs. On International Mother Language day – 21st February, Grameenphone, through a unique Digital content, paid a tribute to Late Altaf Mahmud – the composer of this very song. We believe that the student’s combined voice, and languages will shed a whole new light on the iconic song. Content advertisement created by Grey, Bangladesh for Grameenphone, within the category: Public Interest, NGO.

Every year in Bangladesh, 6000 children are born with cleft lips or cleft palates. Meril Lip care & SmileTrain USA stand beside to bring back their smile through raising awareness & offering a very small operation for free. Film advertisement created by MediaCom, Bangladesh for Meril, within the category: Public Interest, NGO.

Robi Axiata, one of the leading telecom operators in Bangladesh wanted to do a social experiment to find and highlight stories of enlightened people in the holy month of Ramadan. The idea was to have two planted actors attack transgender guests at a busy restaurant during the peak hour of iftar meal and see how the other guests react to the situation. The video sparked a national conversation on the rights of transgender people in this largely conservative muslim-majority country. Experiential advertisement created by X, Bangladesh for Robi, within the category: Electronics, Technology.

Direct advertisement created by Grey, Bangladesh for Regain, within the category: Health.

Film advertisement created by JWT, Bangladesh for G-Gas, within the category: Industrial, Agriculture.

JurisTech is a Malaysian FinTech company. We make enterprise solutions for banks such as loan origination and debt collection software. One of the challenges we face is that our employees have a lot of difficulty explaining what we do to their friends and loved ones without having them fall asleep mid-explanation. So we decided to explain what we do by using physical representation of our software (flying robots from the future with laser scanners and stuff).

Outdoor advertisement created by Grey, Bangladesh for AP Honey, within the category: Industrial, Agriculture.

How do you further ignite the passion of Bangladeshis towards their beloved teams of Brazil and Argentina during the football world cup? We designed an interactive football game using Kinect which gave young Bangladeshis to get into the shoes of their heroes and bring glory to their beloved teams. Ambient advertisement created by Ice9 Interactive, Bangladesh for Robi, within the category: Electronics, Technology.

Words hurt, even if it’s just online. Cyberbully is a grave matter all over the world, even so in Bangladesh where 47% of the nation’s growing online culture has faced some form of cyberbullying. To address this issue, we’ve created an anti-cyberbullying campaign for Grameen Phone/Telenor, the largest mobile operator in Bangladesh. Grameen Phone’s massive customer base and presence as a trustworthy national brand makes them perfect for this campaign to be highly impactful. Often, online forms of violence are not considered consequential or problematic, leaving many anti-cyberbullying messages to be ineffective. Our campaign addresses this head on by drawing shocking parallels between cyberbullying and physical torture. The graphic depiction of online violence in such visceral fashion instantly draws attention to the issue while also establishing a coherent message – cyber violence is just as real as any other kind. Grameen Phone’s campaign is the first step to combating this issue. Further collaborations with Bangladesh’s national ITC division are underway to take this campaign forward and create a hotline to address cyberbullying. Film advertisement created by Mediumrare, Bangladesh for Telenor, within the category: Electronics, Technology.

This is a story of an indomitable talented underprivileged boy of Patuakhali Imran Hassan and a blind girl Salina Akhter from Dhaka, Bangladesh. They have surpassed all the obstacles from the life with the help of Dutch Bangla Bank Scholarship. This bank has created and extended their hands towards them to fulfill their dreams and able them for the future. Dutch Bangla Bank Limited has been providing Education scholarships to thousands of meritorious yet underprivileged and physically challenged students from all across Bangladesh for the past 13 years beginning its journey in 2005. Throughout the journey many inspiring stories were heard of indomitable meritorious students whom despite their challenges wanted to keep on moving forward. Dutch Bangla Bank became their friend in need and helped them through their scholarship program. Our plan was to put a dramatic representation of this stories and bring out the emotions that the viewers could relate to. Their stories, struggles & hardships and their will to achieve along with how Dutch Bangla bank helped was put forward. Film advertisement created by Mattra, Bangladesh for Dutch Bangla Bank Scholarship, within the category: Finance.

This year on ‘The International Day for the Elderly’, we took an initiative to highlight the role of the elderly in society and raising awareness of the challenges they face in today’s world. To raise awareness about this issue, we have emphasized the toll time takes on an aging father and his son. Time plays a large role in our relationships – those who once raised us and cared for us become those in need of our care and assistance. We love them, perhaps in many ways we provide for them. But time is the one thing we fail to give to the elderly. Time is always the one thing we run out of. It is our responsibility to be compassionate and attentive to people, whose bodies and minds are failing them because of the hands of time. We should appreciate the elderly while we still have the chance, while there’s still time. Film advertisement created by Mediumrare, Bangladesh for Frutika, within the category: Food.

Film advertisement created by Geeky Social, Bangladesh for Fresh Cement, within the category: House, Garden.