White models and voiceovers in British accents were once ubiquitous in Nigerian adverts. Not any more.
As part of a “policy of developing local talent”, the country’s advertising regulator has announced a complete ban on the use of foreign models and voiceover artists from October.
The ban would cover all non-Nigerians and will put paid to the numbers of western, white actors who have appeared regularly on the country’s television adverts.
Even before the ban was announced companies had to pay a 100,000-Naira (about $240) tariff for every foreign model used in an advert, making Nigeria one of the world’s most uncompromising environments on media representation.
Steve Babaeko, president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, told The Times: “Ten to twenty years ago if you checked the commercials, I would say they were almost 50/50 in terms of foreign faces and all the voiceovers were British accents.”
Nigerian brands would use foreigners, while multinationals such as Coca-Cola and LG would simply distribute their global campaigns, full of white models, in Nigeria.
Indicating a shift in strategy by international brands, the British agency AMV BBDO recently shot Guinness’s present African campaign, “Black Shines Brightest”, in Lagos, using a Nigerian director and local models.
Babaeko said: “I think the law is just catching up with national sentiment. As long as maybe eight years ago you would notice some kind of renaissance in Nigeria.” He said there was a “new sense of pride emerging” among young Nigerians, which meant there was “backlash” when projects were obviously shot abroad or with foreign models.
“People will tell you, ‘There are about 200 million of us. Are you telling me you could not find indigenous models for this commercial?’” he said.
In one case in 2018 the fashion designer Deola Sagoe was criticised after an advert for her collection of traditional Nigerian dresses included three white models, an Asian model and only one African model. The collection was straplined “Nigeria’s regal gift to the world”.
Bolanle Olukanni, a well-known TV presenter who stars in adverts, said Nigerian adverts rarely included white models these days, but many are shot in other countries such as Kenya and South Africa, particularly the latter, which makes use of its multiracial population to offer low rates to brands from all over the world.
“It really is about Africa,” she said. “It’s not about them saying people are not African. If you’re advertising specific brands in the market, you cannot use someone who can pass as a Nigerian.”
She said the ban would force Nigerian agencies to shoot adverts locally. “No one will fly 10-15 models to South Africa,” she said.
While Nigeria is a dominant cultural force in Africa and beyond, its advertising industry is dwarfed by that of South Africa. Babaeko said the former was worth about $450 million while South Africa’s is worth $2.6 billion. “This is what is powering the government to say, ‘Look, enough is enough’,” he added.
Olalekan Fadolapo, the director-general of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, told The Times that other African countries already had de facto bans on foreign models, but they were “unwritten”.
“Advertising should resonate with the people,” he added. “How do you think it will resonate if we keep using foreign artists?”
Source: Thetimes.co.uk