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African Models: Nigeria Moves To Prohibit The Use Of Foreign Models In Commercials

Posted On : September 2, 2022

Oscar Alochi

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The ban intends to promote Nigerian advertising and highlight its skills.
Nigeria prohibits voice actors and international advertisers from working on its commercials. Nigeria is the first nation to pass a law of this kind. The prohibition will go into force on October 1; however, active projects using foreign talent that were in progress before to the announcement will be permitted to continue.
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCOND), which first broke the news on August 23, said that the proposal was in line with government initiatives aimed at expanding the Nigerian advertising business as a whole.

Olalekan Fadolapo, the director general of ARCON, stated in a statement that the restriction is consistent with the Federal Government’s aim to foster homegrown talent and broad-based economic growth across all industries, including advertising.

With effect from October 1, 2022, all advertisements that are intended to be exposed on Nigerian advertising space must not use foreign models or voice actors, according to the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022, which establishes ARCON as the Federal Government’s primary regulatory body for advertising, advertisement, and marketing communications.

The director-general further stated that only Nigerian artists and models should be used in all commercials and marketing communications materials.

He clarified that ongoing advertising and marketing initiatives may continue until the end of their allotted time before the prohibition will be put into effect.

However, the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) will not approve any further requests for revalidation for the ongoing exposure of such ads, according to Fadolapo.
ARCON advised the public, advertisers, media outlets, advertising communities, and advertising agencies to be aware of the restriction.

Steve Babaeko, president of ARCON, claimed in an interview with the UK’s The Times Newspaper that the new prohibition was a sign of burgeoning national pride.

If you looked at the advertisements from ten to twenty years ago, approximately half of the actors were foreigners, and the voiceovers were all done in British accents, according to Steve Babaeko. “I believe that the law is just now catching up to public opinion.
You could have detected a revival in Nigeria as recently as eight years ago. He added that people were typically dissatisfied in the past when Nigerians had upcoming films that were being shot abroad with foreign actresses.

Babaeko continued by claiming that the decision will increase Nigeria’s advertising influence and noting that other African nations now dominate Nigeria’s market share.
The most recent development has caused social media users in Nigeria to become further divided, with some claiming it was a positive step and others arguing it will have negative effects in the future.

Content courtesy of The Guardian Nigeria, Okay Africa & NFH 

Oscar Alochi

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