BY Mansur Ibrahim
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has beaten the strict political advertising rules set by the American international cable channel, CNN International, successfully airing its “change” campaign on Thursday.
TheCable had reported how the network had been turning down explicit vote-canvassing campaigns from Nigerian politicians who are preparing for the 2015 general election.
Ashley Hogan-Gancarz, the account manager of CNN International, had informed TheCable that CNN International never accepted political or religious advertising owing to industry regulations, denying that Nigeria was being targeted.
“If you want to promote investment opportunities, etc. that would be fine but nothing to do with politics or the 2015 election,” she had said.
The APC did not canvass votes in the TV commercial, but showed a series achievements in states governed by its governors in a veiled pitch for the forthcoming elections.
The one-minute video begins with the display of the images of great Nigerian icons, including Fela, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe.
It then shows the APC governors in a group photograph, identifies them and lists what they have achieved in their states. The achievements listed include the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge in Lagos, hospitals in Rivers and free education in Kano.
It ends with several brooms merging, and is then signed off by “Change for Democracy”.
By beating the advert trap, APC may be showing the way for other political parties to be more creative with their messages in the campaigns intended for CNN International.
The channel is a the favourite among the Nigerian elite and is watched by a global audience of 200 million households and hotels in over 200 countries.
Although its advert rates are still considered “reasonable”, it charges one of the highest premium rates in the world.
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