Admen in Africa

This story we tell, it concerns three farmers.

One carry him money, to go for him villay,

So all de people come, an' they borrow

everything. Another farmer put him own money

for ground, But thief steal am for night, an' ant eat some too. One of them farmers, him got plenty sense, 'E go for Barclays Bank an' they keep him money well.

Brown shoulders swayed and laughter filled the night as this simple tale in pidgin English wafted last week from the screen of one of Nigeria's 45 open-air cinemas. A commercial for Barclays Bank of England, written in the local "High Life" beat, the short cartoon has become so popular among West Africans that it vies for equal billing with ancient Tom Mix westerns and Charlie Chaplin slapsticks. It also pleases Barclays: savings accounts have almost quadrupled since it started showing the film. Says Barclays' Advertising Manager Kenneth J. Lashmar:

"Africa is an adman's dream. These people are curious, keen, vital; they love to laugh, they love the visual approach, and they're wild about education.''

Hut-to-Hut Research. Barclays' film is one of the most successful feats in a new and challenging field of advertising especially geared to the African market. Before 1945 there was virtually no advertising by European or U.S. firms designed for Africans. Today, with African purchasing power blossoming, admen in London and New York are working hard to sell the Africans their wares. So far, the market is not very big (advertisers spend only $1,400,000 a year to reach Nigeria's 35 million people), but Africa's future is so promising that firms that want a part in it are moving in now.

Far from being a gullible prey for the adman's every gimmick, the African checks into quality and price before plunking down his hard-earned money, can be fanatically loyal to a product once he is won over. But his sense of values, his different cultural life, and his ignorance of many Western habits all conspire to make him a customer to test the ingenuity of the Madison Avenue adman. Hut-to-hut market research, for example, does not seem to work. A recent survey for brilliantine among upper-income Nigerians ($280 to $1,400 a year) showed that 38% were nonusers. Yet among these nonusers, 52% insisted that they preferred to buy brilliantine in jars rather than tubes.

No Cheesecake. Since the great majority of Africans are illiterate, the illustration is what sells the product. What matters most is how the African himself is presented. He resents being pictured with G string and spears, yet does not want anyone to suggest that he merely apes the Europeans. Most ads. therefore, picture him as what he would like to see himself as: the African of tomorrow, lightskinned, well-dressed, usually in comfortable surroundings. Coca-Cola successfully uses testimonials from U.S. Negro athletes, Lux from U.S. Negro actresses. One ad firm sold cigarettes in villages with the slogan: "Men about town smoke Commandos." Another company raised sales of its safety razor blade with an illustration that would make any Westerner turn to the electric razor: a scene showing the razor cutting a lion in half, with blood dripping all over the poster. The bestselling bicycle is made by a company that distributes posters showing an African waving gaily as he outpaces a pursuing lion. On the other hand, the African is prudish, does not like come-hither cheesecake. Companies have found that the surest appeal is to stress power, virility and the image of wealth. The most touchy taboo is politics. Barclays changed the color of its giveaway pencils from blue to cream after it discovered that blue was the color of one local political party.

Sometimes companies are surprised at their success, only to discover that Africans have found an unsuspected use for their product. Parker, which dominates the West African ink market, recently noted that its sales had rocketed and retailers were asking for gallon bottles. Parker finally discovered that its popularity was due to a thirst for education: pregnant mothers were drinking ink in the hope that their children would be born knowing how to write. Other companies have found shoe polish used as face cream, soap as fish bait, hair cream as sandwich spread.

Low Rates. For the company that wants to make the effort to tap Africa's market, the cost of advertising in many areas is low. The highest page rate in West Africa is charged by Lagos' Sunday Times (circ.

125,000), which asks $520--and most page rates are much lower. One of the African's favorite pastimes is listening to the radio; a company can sponsor a half-hour show on the Western Nigerian radio for $28, a half-hour show on the Liberian radio for $13.44. Open-air cinemas are also an important advertising medium, where for $11.20 a company can sandwich a three-minute commercial film between movies.

But roadside signs are apt to be costly and useless. Many Africans have found that they make good roofing material.

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