Advertising as a Career

By the late nineties, Pakistan’s advertising industry had begun its transitionfrom mid-sized, inward-looking local businesses to larger outfits with awider international worldview. The entry of global affiliates (Ogilvy, JWT,BBDO), followed by multinational media buying agencies (Mindshare,Starcom) introduced global standards and structures, prompting local agencies toprofessionalise and redefine their leadership.

This evolution coincided with the launch of Aurora magazine in 1998, which becamethe industry’s mirror, documenting agency transformations, creative trends, and careertrajectories. From profiling creative minds like Imran Mir, who transformed MCB’s designstyle, to highlighting issues such as brain drain, low salaries, and a lack of creative direction,Aurora didn’t just report on these changes; it pushed the industry to confront them.

In the 2000s, digital disruption entered the equation. As print lost ground, agenciesstarted handing their digital work to their staff without much structure. Small digitalagencies appeared, but most clients were slow to invest until the 2010s. Then socialmedia took off, leading to a boom in media buying and creative hot shops thatchallenged the old full-service agency model.

The 2010s marked a turning point. New career paths opened in digital content,copywriting, strategy and media planning. Government initiatives like the NationalFreelance Training Programme began incorporating advertising as a core skill,signalling its value in the digital economy. Women increasingly took on creativeleadership roles, with several earning ECD and CCO titles – breaking gendernorms and expanding the industry’s talent pool. By the 2020s, many agencies hadtransformed into data-driven, strategy-led creative studios, offering services fromcontent marketing to analytics. Advertising spend grew steadily, estimated at seven to12% annually, fuelled by FMCGs, financial services and e-commerce.

Nevertheless, as Aurora’s career-focused features have repeatedly shown, structuralchallenges persist. There is still not enough focus on HR, university courses areoutdated, and there is little connection between what schools teach and what theindustry needs. Teachers in business schools often lack agency experience, andadvertising is still treated as a fall-back option rather than a first-choice profession.Added to this was the opening up of private TV channels which opened up newopportunities for young people who otherwise may have ended up in advertising,particularly on the creative side. This trend has continued, especially with the growth ofthe freelance gig economy. In many respects, agency heads have failed to keep up withchanging times, both in terms of the salary packages they offer and their expectationsof their staff. In many ways, the entry of Gen Z as the workforce of the future has takenmany agencies by surprise. The old ways of working late hours, being on constantcall and expected to drudge on without mentoring, no longer cuts it with Gen Z, andagencies are being forced to revise their entire approach to their retention policies.

Today, modern advertising spans data science, brand strategy, and freelance digitalmarketing within agencies, in-house teams, and consultancies. But the shift isn’tjust functional – it’s philosophical. As AI reshapes workflows and design becomes aprompt-based task, the value lies in the mindset. As Atiya Zaidi noted in her articleAttitude Rather Than Grades, ‘learnability’ matters more than having the right degree;students must be taught to unlearn, adapt and question.

In 2025, advertising in Pakistan is no longer a stepping stone. It is a multifaceted,fast-evolving career path – creative, strategic, and globally relevant. With sustainedinvestment in education, professional training, and workplace culture, it holds immensepromise for the next generation of storytellers. The onus is on the agency heads todeliver on this promise.

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