A huge debate has hit the Kenya and it’s all about an advert that encourages the use of condoms in relationships. The advert in question is the ‘Weka Condom Mpangoni’ advert. It’s about two women discussing an affair. One woman asks her friend about her husband and younger lover. She then reminds her she should always have a condom when she is with her lover. Religious leaders opposed this advert saying it promoted infidelity and demanded it to be taken off air. It was eventually pulled off air last week and since then people have been talking about the ad and taking different sides.
A lot of varied responses have surfaced about the advert. One response that stood out was that the people against the advert were showing how unwilling society is to accept reality. A few people pointed out that the advert did not promote infidelity as such but was encouraging use of condoms in marriage. More and more people who are married are contracting HIV and the advert pointed out that the unfaithful partners need to protect themselves. But a part of society disagrees with this notion, they insist the advert is encouraging infidelity and will ruin the morals of people in society. Is it true that we are afraid of facing reality as depicted in the advert?
Adverts in Kenya have for the longest time been used for a simple purpose; to sell a product. A team comes up with a plan to entice the audience and make us want to purchase the product. For this, they come up with a storyline that applies to our lifestyle. Sometimes the adverts hit close to home, making the product more appealing to us. Adverts in Kenya are evolving; it’s not about simply selling the product. Companies are now passing messages in the adverts. They are seeking to enlighten the public, educate them as well as entice them to buying their product. For this to happen, the storyline has to be relatable to our everyday life. In my opinion, the “Weka Condom Mpangoni†ad did just that. The makers of the advert decided that since people are being unfaithful why not just tell them to be safe? In other words, adverts are now being used to pass educative and informative messages. Something that will change how the society behaves.
Some adverts are also very entertaining. The best example here are the Faiba adverts. They just don’t encourage you to try the product; they make you feel like you just watched your favorite show. More and more companies are going this way and finding the funniest and most creative ways to air the adverts. Funny adverts are more popular it seems, people remember a product that was marketed with a funny advert more than those marketed with a serious one.
A lot is changing in the marketing industry, adverts are showing us that. It’s not just about the product but more about showing how that product relates to life and applying it to all scenarios in life. We might not agree with the messages in an advert but the product is designed for certain scenarios which the ad might need to bring out. Maybe it’s time we let the marketers show us the various scenarios it applies to. I like how adverts are trying to teach us a lesson. We might not agree with how it is done but the adverts are changing to suit reality. Maybe it’s time we accepted that what we thought adverts were meant to do has changed and accept the new method.