In the last 50 years, advertising practice in Nigeria has undergone a significant transformation. The industry has grown from a small, nascent industry into a thriving, creative, and innovative one, with contributions from a plethora of individuals, agencies, and companies.
As advertising practitioners in Nigeria under the banner of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), celebrate 50 years of their collective existence, we would be publishing a series of reports on this epoch-making celebration including the first part of this series that highlights 50 persons that kept the organized advertising industry flying for 50 years.
Sylvester Ifeanyinchukwu Moemeke
He was one of the few Nigerians picked by Lintas(formerly West African Publicity Limited) as a graduate trainee and he was posted to the agency’s client service dept. At that time, the major agencies were foreign-owned, and all strategic positions were filled with expatriates who, perhaps, for no other reason but contempt for local manpower.
The exploits of Moemeke opened the floodgates for Nigerian ad practitioners to roar. In 1974, he rose to become the first Nigerian to head Lintas as Chairman/Managing Director, and the billings of Lintas, fed by a constant flow of new and meaty accounts, simply soared throughout his 10-year tenure.
He was the president of the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) from 1975 to 1982. He also served as President of the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON). He died in 2015 at the age of 83.
Chris Doghudje
He still serves as an advertising consultant, trainer, and publisher. Hitherto he was in active advertising where he rose to the position of managing director of Nigeria’s premier advertising agency Lintas: Lagos, later Lowe Lintas Lagos. A fellow of the advertising profession, he was Chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) from 2007 to 2010.
Since 1974, Doghudje has been a regular speaker and lecturer in advertising-related courses at seminars, and workshops. He was an adjunct facilitator in Advertising Planning and Analysis of Audience and Media at the School of Media and Communication of Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.
He still finds time to act as publisher and editor-in-chief of ADNEWS, a monthly publication for spreading advertising knowledge, information, and professionalism which he established in 1992.
Biodun Shobanjo
Seen as Nigeria’s most successful advertising businessman, Shobanjo commenced his communications career in the programmes department of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He also rose to the post of Deputy Managing Director of Grant Advertising before his 30th birthday. In 1979, he co-founded Insight Communications (now Insight Grey) which has today grown from the initial 18-man strong team into an advertising behemoth. The Troyka Group which is the holding company for Insight, SKG2, Optimum Exposure, Media Perspective, MediaCom, Quadrant, and Halogen amongst others employs over eight thousand Nigerian men and women. This has earned him the unofficial title of the Czar of Advertising in Nigeria.
He is a member of The British Institute of Public Relation (IPR), The British Institute of Marketing, the International Advertising Association, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, and the Commonwealth Journalists Association. He is also a member of The British Institute of Marketing, the International Advertising Association, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, and the Commonwealth Journalists Association.
Steve Omojafor
Sir Omojafor was co-founder of the famous Rosabel Advertising Agency and Former Group Managing Director/CEO of STB-MCCANN – a leading marketing communication company providing services to multi-national companies. His impact on advertising remains indelible and he is the chairman, of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the prestigious department of Mass Communication of the University Of Lagos, Nigeria in 1972 – specializing in marketing communications. He has also attended several advertising seminars and workshops in the United States of America including a short program at Columbia University, New York; Australia, Holland, the United Kingdom, and around Africa.
Sir Omojafor is a director of several companies in Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Marketing (NIMARK) and also a Fellow of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).
Olu Falomo
His first experience in the private sector was with West Africa Publicity Limited (later, Lintas Limited) as a trainee Client Service Executive. He later rose to the position of Client Service Director, before he moved to Ogilvy, Benson, and Mather Nigeria Limited as an Executive Director. In 1986, he established Forum Advertising Nigeria Limited, where he ran as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
During his career, he held positions as President or Council Member of several advertising professional bodies like the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), the Nigeria Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). In December 1999, he was appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo as the Chairman of APCON and served in that capacity for four years. From 1990 to 1994, he served as a member of the World Board of Directors of the International Advertising Association (IAA). Indeed, Chief Falomo invested time in the promotion and development of the advertising business in Nigeria.
Olu Falomo sits on the board of many companies. He is the Chairman of Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria and the Principal Consultant of Olu Falomo & Associates.
Mrs. Bola Lawson
Mrs. Bola Thomas launched her advertising career at Grant Advertising in 1978. In 1986, she partnered with colleagues to establish one of Nigeria’s top-rated Advertising Agencies, Lawson Thomas and Colleagues Advertising Ltd (LTC/JWT). Then, as founding Creative Director, she was very involved in its creative pitches and robust account acquisitions. She later became the managing partner of Lawson Thomas and Colleagues (LTC) advertising outfit.
2001, she was elected the Association’s first-ever female President and subsequently served on its Board of Trustees. Her contributions to the industry have been quite instrumental in sustaining the advertising industry till date.
Udeme Ufot
Udeme Ufot holds a BA in Industrial Design from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, a Certificate in Management from the Swedish Institute of Management, and the Chief Executive Programme of the Lagos Business School (LBS). He worked in Insight Communications from 1984 to 1989 where he left as Deputy Creative Director (Art) to join CASERS in 1989 as Creative Director. Six months later he co-founded SO&U in 1990, now one of Nigeria’s leading marketing communications groups with a strong reputation for professionalism and creativity where he is currently Group Managing Director.
Udeme’s impacts on the industry are indelible; He held several executive positions in the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) including Vice President and President in 1997 and 1999 respectively. He also served as Chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), as well as a member of the Board of Special Olympics Nigeria. In recognition of his services to the nation in the Corporate Sector, he was awarded Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR in 2014 by the Federal Government of Nigeria.