The Thing About Advertisements.

11:09:00 am



As a growing child in the 90s, TV commercials were a time to sing along and sometimes dance to the jingles of the different brands advertising their products. I can still remember a particular Limca and Tandi advert. The people in the adverts always looked happy and were depicted as fun people having a party and drinking these products. The message was clear and precise. Throw a party and give your guests Limca or Tandi and it'll be fun all the way. Simple and straightforward. Fast forward to the Y2K years and the story has changed.

In a bid to sell products fast in a highly competitive market, companies/brands have gone the extra mile to employ the services of advertising firms who sometimes come up with rather ridiculous concepts for TV commercials and the likes of it. Adverts have become more glitter and less truth.

Recently, I came across a TV commercial and it was advertising an alcoholic drink. We all know alcohol is intoxicating and makes people lose their balance and the rest of it. Maybe the effect differs in individuals but there are common effects that are experienced by all who take it. This advert started off at a bar where a lady and a man were seated across each other while maintaining eye contact. They ordered this particular drink and immediately they were filled with strength. And they got up from their seats and started pushing down walls in the bar, making their way through. The lady was catwalking and pushing down walls, while the guy was flexing his muscles in a macho walk and also doing the same. Wonderful! All because of this alcoholic drink?

Now, just imagine the way this advert would have been interpreted by teenagers who have never tasted alcohol and have not seen people in real life under the influence of alcohol. Some of them may wave it aside as just acting and unrealistic but what about the others who take in the message hook,line and sinker? This is just one example amongst a thousand others.

I've read a lot of stories about companies/brands in the USA who have been sued as a result of misleading and false advertisements. Lives have even been lost. In recent years, these companies have made sure to be careful with the kind of message they pass across in their adverts. There are even regulatory authorities who watch out for such misleading adverts and put a stop to them. We need more of such in Nigeria.

Just last week, a telecommunications brand in Nigeria unveiled a new product with the catch phrase, "Netflix and chill". I was taken aback and felt a little bit of disgust at this. Do they know what "Netflix and chill" really mean? Literally, it looks ordinary but there's more to it. Before coming up with an advert, enough research should be carried out in order to avoid adulterated contents. According to Urban Dictionary, "Netflix and chill" means, " SEX. A new way of botty calling". This is even the most decent definition I could find. So is this the message this telecommunications brand wants to pass across to its consumers? That it's ok to "Netflix and chill"? And maybe what they really mean is that Netflix is now in Nigeria and you can now chill whilst at it? What really is the message? I rest my case.

All I'm saying is, can we go back to the days where adverts had interesting jingles that we could all sing, nod our heads and probably dance to? Can we still find little atoms of truth in advertisements? The thing is that the most popular brands in the world hardly advertise their products. They earned their customers through goodwill, good packaging and "friendly", subtle advertisements.

xo, Evita.



Image gotten from sprintide.in

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13 comments

  1. Oh Evita you literally pulled the words out of my mouth. Adverts of way back are far better than now. Clear cut. Not misleading.

    www.epiphany29.com

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    1. You know this Grace. Very clear and simple. Those were the days, unlike now.

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  2. I remember Fidodido, and whole lot of others... They where really adverts for the products they publicized... unlike adverts of these days with lots of wrong messages esp nudity. Nice one.

    Egwumba’s Blog

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    1. Hehehehe!! I don't think I can even remember that advert. The nudity aspect is a topic for another day, really annoying. Thanks Ugo :)

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  3. Wooooooooow, this piece is superb! Can we honestly go back to those simple ol' days? I think the major problem here is that advertising companies want to to be as aggressive as possible. People are becoming smarter and they think the only way out is to forcefully shove ideas and concepts in people's faces. Unfortunately, it goes wrong, way wrong!

    I publicly noted on Facebook that Always© has begun to create static ads with dancing ballet girls. When I am on my period, I am not that free. Very few girls are free and so to say that their sanitary pad will bring that freedom is to make young, naive girls begin to ask questions and feel guilty.

    'Why can't I be as free as the lady in that Ad?'

    Of course the lady in the ad is obviously not on her period. Period!

    Spot on, Evita

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    1. Oh Esther! Where do I send your high fives to! The sanitary pad advert came to mind but I decided not to mention so the post doesn't become too lengthy. Its so wrong on all levels. The sanitary pad doesn't take away the cramps as far as I know, thereby making the advert contradictory to reality. Thank you for shedding light on that particular advert. I appreciate your comment.

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  4. Like girl you just know!! So many wrong adverts but what do i know about advertising?
    www.toyinwithfashion.com

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    1. Lol! Abi o. What do we know? They should take it down a notch though. Thanks Toyin :)

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  5. really dude this advert nowadays are way to much they can just give it to me and I will open a fashion school lool
    They have their way of doing things but still sex is always involved somehow
    Yankeur.blogspot.com

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    1. Hahaha!! At least you'd put the money to better use.lol! I hope they begin to tone the ads down. Thanks Yanes :)

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  6. Hi Evita,
    I personally differ with your line of thought based on your little knowledge of the happenings of the advertising sector. I feel you attached so much emotions to writing this piece thus making it a single story. Fortunately, I work in advertising. The best part is that Advertising works.... like magic (both increase in sales figures and brand awareness) and maybe Playing on people's little mind is the most exciting of it as well.
    On the Netflix and chill campaign, this ad was a brilliant piece done by our agency. Simple and straight cut message
    (Urban Dictionary is not an authority in English, just some bored American street kids language, they have a negative meaning to every word in the dictionary).

    On regulation, believe me Nigeria regulator APCON are one of the strictest agency I have worked with my international experience. They are very thorough with ad content, nothing gets pass them....Trust me.

    Finally, on the cliché of “Sex Sells, that’s a slogan for lazy-shortcut strategy for new entrant in the industry who are not creative . Every ad we put out there to our customer is backed with intensive market research analysis.

    #PropertyoftheWhiteHouse

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    1. "this ad was a brilliant piece done by our agency " <--- This gives the lengthy reply.

      can i put it to you that despite our "little knowledge of the happenings of the advertising sector." we are still the target market and we know what we want. playing with the peoples mind or not, ad agency need to wind down abit. if playing with peoples mind is to create wrong impression and ideas into the young ones, then i dont know where we are headed to in our society.

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  7. Ebere darling! You took the words right outta my mouth. @Propertyofthewhitehouse Do you consider the fact that a few percentage of the population actually take these things seriously? My point is simply that you guys should try to be more realistic and truthful in your advert concepts. Its only normal for you to defend your profession eh. But let a spade be called a spade. Thanks for your contribution.

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