H
F
SUPER BRANDS
AFRICAN
I
& Entertainment: The Correlation
With Myke Pam
t is indeed a beautiful sight these days to behold the productive marriage
of sorts between some super brands in Africa and African entertainment
icons, projects and organs. One still remembers with nostalgic reflections
when brands operating in the continent seemed not to take advantage
of the abundant human and material resources available in the African
entertainment landscape.
Those were the days when these brands preferred to trumpet the triumphs
of unreachable foreign stars to the detriment of the home grown ones. It
might interest you to know that in spite of the rejections meted out to our
own shining lights by the then largely foreign controlled conglomerates,
the hardworking indigenous industry eggheads still trudged on, until
Africans who understood the goldmine staring at their faces took up the
gauntlet to reverse this ugly unpatriotic trend.
Today, it is a different kettle of fish as the hitherto rejected stone has become the chief
corner stone of this imposing modern house. A house fit for kings. So, like the proverbial
phoenix, African entertainers are now rising out of the ashes of yesterday and are soaring
into the horizon, one made for Africans by Africans. It did not happen overnight. It took
the foresight, dedication and sincerity of purpose of a couple of big brands spearheaded by
patriotically inclined Africans to right this age long wrongs.
Most of the projects getting respectable endorsement from these brands include music/
movie/general entertainment talent hunts, sponsorship and bankrolling of movie projects,
dance competitions, music and comedy concerts, reality television shows, endorsement of
entertainment icons as brand ambassadors and other sundry entertainment events.
Some of these highly commendable brands and their respective entertainment projects
(most of them international Entertainment franchises) are listed below:
MTN – Project Fame, Who Wants To Be Millionaire? Brand Ambassadors
GLO – X-Factor, Naija Sings, Brand Ambassadors
AIRTEL – Naija Got Talent, BBA, Tinsel, Brand Ambassadors
ETISALAT-Nigerian Idols
PEAK MILK- Peak Talent Hunt
NBL – Star Quest, Star Mega Jam, Star Trek, Gulder Ultimate Search, Maltina Family Dance
All, Amstel Malta Box Office
GUINNESS BREWERIES – Malta Guinness Street Dance
BGL – Heaven’s Hell (Nollywood)
STERLING BANK – Spirited Actor (Talent Hunt)
DIAMOND BANK – Money Drop /Brand Ambassadors
UNILEVER – Lipton Brand Ambassadors
Finally, without sounding pig headed, one can boldly say that the goose has finally come
home to roost.
Note: This is the first of the brand and entertainment chronicles, more brands holding sway
all over the continent will be profiled in subsequent editions of your number one African
entertainment journal.
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HF Magazine Edition 1, Volume 1.
HF Magazine Edition 1, Volume 1.
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