Modern Stoves - Bangladesh

The Bangladesh campaign focused on promoting portable metal stoves among peri-urban areas of Dhaka and Khulna. These stoves were marketed as “modern stoves”, and used the  tagline “Times have changed, change your stove," in response to findings that suggest the aspiration to be “modern” is a strong influencer for purchase decisions among the target audience. 

Communication channels included interpersonal communication (street theatre, household visits, and stove fairs), mass media (radio ads, mobile cinema), outdoor media (billboards and rickshaw signs), and mobile advertising (SMS and social media). 

The Modern Stoves campaign placed particular emphasis on men as a target audience because of their role in influencing household expenditures. The short film centered around two brothers from a family that is struggling with financial and health issues due to their use of biomass fuels for cooking. The younger brother spends recklessly on flashy clothes and needless conveniences like auto-rickshaws - considered to be a waste of money - in order to appear modern. His older brother comes home to find his mother and sister suffering from the inhalation of cookstove smoke and purchases a “modern stove” for them. The film emphasized that being a modern man entails taking care of your family, not buying fancy clothes and spending money on unnecessary conveniences.

The radio spots, reflecting the same modern theme, were aired on a station with significant reach in the Dhaka and Khulna regions, and encouraged people to attend the local events. Additionally, the government employed mobile technology by sending an SMS explaining the benefits of modern stoves and directing people to the campaign’s Facebook page and hotline number.