Nigeria has become the first nation ever to announce a complete ban on foreign models when it comes to its TV advertisements. The decision to ban foreign models was taken by the Nigerian government to “develop local talent” and will officially be implemented from October, 2022.
As per the reports, “The ban explains that all non-Nigerian models and voiceover artists will be out of work in the nation soon, and this will be huge cultural shift. Earlier, it was common for foreign faces and British-accented voices to feature heavily on Nigerian TV.
The reports have revealed that, the president of the Association of the Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, said that, “Ten to 20 years back, if you checked the commercials, I would say they were almost 50/50 in terms of foreign faces as well as all the voiceovers were British accents.”
Though, the ban was just announced, restrictions existed in Nigeria as companies earlier had to pay a fee of 100,000 Naira (Around $240) for employing any foreign model in advertisements.
Among the first companies to embrace this shift was the ad agency AMV BBDO which used local models and directors to shoot the “Black Shines Brightest” campaign for beer brand Guinness.
“I think the law is just catching up with national sentiment. As long as maybe eight years ago, you would see some kind of renaissance in Nigeria.”
Babaeko elaborated, “People will tell you, There are around 200 million of us. Are you telling me you could not find indigenous models for this commercial?”
The Nigerian advertising industry was valued at roughly $450 million in 2021 and although it is not as big as a number of other African nations, it is believed that this move can boost its popularity.
