The Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Information & National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris and his counterpart in the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, have showered encomiums on the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) on its golden anniversary at the AAAN 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, recently.
While delivering his goodwill message, Alhaji Idris, who served as the Special Guest of Honour for the occasion, stated, “This milestone event is a testament to the remarkable journey of the association and its invaluable contribution to the advertising industry in Nigeria. Advertising plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception, driving economic growth, and fostering creativity and innovation. Over the past five decades, this association has consistently demonstrated its commitment to excellence, professionalism, and ethical standards in the field of advertising. Your dedication has not only propelled the industry forward but has also inspired countless individuals and organizations to strive for greatness.”
The Minister who was represented by the Director, Public Communications and National Orientation in the ministry, Mr. Sunny Baba, reiterated the President Tinubu-led the Federal Government’s resolve to collaborate with change agents in the private sector, commended AAAN for spearheading the adoption of ethical and standard advertising practices in the country.
He said, “Over the past five decades, this association has consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence, professionalism, and ethical standards in the field of advertising. Your dedication has not only propelled the industry forward but has also inspired countless individuals and organizations to strive for greatness.”
He also called on the association to support the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration: “As we all know, the recent election of president Ahmed Tinubu to the highest position in the land has presented us with opportunities to set this nation on a higher pedestal. We therefore need the support of veritable change agent in the formal, informal and the private sector to move our great nation in the direction of sustainable growth, in all frontiers of our economy.
“Please call on me, when there’s any need to do that. Once again I register my sincere gratitude for the privilege of serving as a special guest of honour in this celebration. I believe that we be able to continue to drive this positive change and take our nation to the next level,” he urged AAAN.
Also speaking in the same vein, Mr Dele Alake says he shares in the joy of the phenomenal celebration, “To say that there’s no doubt in our minds that AAAN has demonstrated capacity for the Nigerian professionals by responding adequately to global trends and measures.
Alake who was represented by Mr Sani Baba from the Solid Minerals Ministry highlighted the Ministry of Solid Minerals’ roadmap to reposition the sector, emphasizing the importance of effective messaging, content development, and copy for implementation. He encouraged AAAN members to assist in conveying the ministry’s mineral-related aspirations and processes to the public.
“In all this we require effective messaging, effective content development, copy for implementation. In order words, there will be a lot of opportunities for members AAAN to assist in transferring our minerals, aspirations, processes into copy that will convince the ordinary person and able to ensure that the aspiration of the ministry is achieved,” he said
In his own goodwill message, Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, said that ARCON will like to celebrate the AAAN of it’s 50th anniversary. “Between the last 25th anniversary till this day, the association has recorded many milestones which include changing of its name from AAAPN to AAAN,the movement of the secretariat of the association to its own permanent site and the institution of one of the most credible advertising creative for the industry which is the LAIF awards.
“We will continue to support the association to ensure that we have corporate and collaborate with them, we can have a better advertising results … which I’m aware everyone of us will be proud of. The advertising regulatory council of Nigeria is currently involved in series of reforms which is aimed at creating a better,healthy advertising environment for all stakeholders electronic,agency and the media houses. We receive partnership from these areas,” Fadolapo revealed
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Information, Hon. Olusola Fatoba, on behalf of the House, applauded advertising practitioners for shaping the country’s fortune with their profession. He assured AAAN that he would continue to engage with the leadership of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) to see to the full implementation of the local content requirements in its new Act.
“I recall, several years back, most of the trending advertisements on television in Nigeria were foreign adverts, with faces that did not look like us and voices that sounded very foreign, marketing products that were both made at home and abroad. This means that if an advert was not produced abroad, then it will not trend and it will not be impactful.
“However, I am impressed with the fight back that came from AAAN and its members. They stepped up their creativity, ingenuity, innovation and investment. Today, the story is different. I travel to some other African countries and I see Nigerian made adverts on their television, side by side, with our movies and our music” Fatoba stated.
In his address as a guest speaker at the event, the Chief Executive Officer at Multichoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe harped on the importance of telling creative and authentic African stories. Ugbe highlighted how the MultiChoice brand has been able to make significant exploits in marketing the African continent by using Africa Magic channels to share African stories with the world.
“African should learn to tell their own stories. Africans should try to create an enabling environment for its creatives to strengthen its propensity to thrive. Naming your creativity as the best in the world has an impact on the creative and the product of creativity. Also, I must add that localization of creativity helps the growth of a brand within and outside the continent,”
Another speaker, Prof. Mustapha Akinkunmi, a Senior Researcher, at CIPS, Fordharm University, who spoke on the place of technology in today’s advertising industry, admonished advertising practitioners to embrace the innovativeness of Artificial intelligence (AI) in a bid to take their creativity to the next level. The university don submitted that AI is the next advertisement tool. “AI will help improve the already existing advertisement models, making it more appealing to the African people and the rest of the world,” he stated.
In his opening address, the AAAN President, Steve Babaeko, had explained that the theme for the remarkable milestone “50 Years Young, Ready for More,” was chosen to reflect the dynamic changes the association has witnessed, especially the influx of young professionals and agencies into its fold, adding that the body has lived up to the theme.
“Our industry has confronted the dual challenges of macroeconomic headwinds and technological disruption, which have impacted not only our clients’ bottom lines but our own as well. However, even in the midst of these turbulent times, I firmly believe that the future of our industry holds promise. By standing united as members of the same family, we can navigate these challenges and emerge stronger,” Babaeko said.
