The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, (ARCON), has banned the production of indigenous advertisements in foreign countries, adding that such would reduce unemployment and improve the national economy.
According to a press statement on Monday, signed by its Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo, ARCON noted that advertisers must stop the capital flight and development of other countries economies by going out of the country to produce adverts meant for the Nigerian market, thereby killing the advertising industry.
The statement partly read: All commercials to be exposed to Nigerians should be produced in Nigeria. Create jobs for our youths, help grow and develop the support service sector of the industry and circulate the money within the Nigerian advertising ecosystem.
The statement also reiterated the agencys ban on the use of foreigners to voice or model adverts exposed to the Nigerian market. It stated, Nigerians should be considered as primary in advertisement targeted at the Nigerian market. The use of foreign models and voices is banned except where it is inevitable. If you are selling your product to Nigerians, use Nigerians in your communication elements.
ARCON also lamented the violation of the industrys credit policy by some of the agencies, noting that their actions have led to industry debt and exploitation of media owners.
It said, It takes a village to produce an advert. Sometimes, the cost of producing an advert can be as much as N500 million depending on the magnitude of the advert. Now, these advertisers prefer to take this huge amount of money to South Africa, Kenya, or any other country, thus, enriching that countrys economy.
Fadolapo stated that producing these adverts in Nigeria would serve as a means to tackle unemployment and also enrich the countrys economic strength because huge sums of money would flow.
Speaking on voiceovers and models, he added that Nigerians have the capacity to voice any type of content that would be exposed to the Nigerian market.
He queried: Are these advertisers telling me that out of over 200 million Nigerians, they cannot get models here to lead roles in their adverts? Are they telling us that out of our population, theres no one capable of voicing adverts?
