The history of advertising in Ethiopia
Part Two
The flood gates open
By Tesfu Telahoun
Ethiopia has enjoyed a few rare eras in its long history when it
has re-defined itself. The period immediately after the ‘Mengistu
Neway Gereger’, the unsuccessful 1961 Palace (Honor) Guard
coup against Emperor Haile Selassie, ushered in nearly a decade
of accelerated economic development.
A viable private sector emerged, encouraged by an enlightened monarch
who had great ambitions for Ethiopia. Massive infrastructure development
from 1961 to 1971 was a source of great national pride in truly
notable achievements. Bole International Airport, The Post Office/
Ministry of Communications complex, the National Stadium, Hilton
Addis and nearly all of the pre-revolution industries are just a
few of the milestones. This ‘Golden Era’ turned to the
age of sharp steel all too suddenly in 1974.
Fast forward 17 years. The present national economic resurgence
is in many respects similar to, if not more intense than the decade
of progress from 1961 to 1971. As individuals took hesitant and
then bolder steps into entrepreneurship the selected advertising
sub- sector rose up like the proverbial phoenix. Thanks to the resilience
of individuals such as Ad pioneer Wubishet Workalemahu of Lion Advertising,
it is very encouraging to see almost 1000 Ad and promotion agencies
in operation. Some of these firms have annual turnovers in the millions
of birr and not a few media professionals have become millionaires
as well as household names-celebrities if you will. Welcoming rapid
growth in the business of advertising, we must ask if the industry
is delivering the product of advertising efficiently.
Advertising in Ethiopia: Print-Media
Print advertising
This is the oldest medium of advertising for obvious reasons. Newspapers
were the first format used by Ethiopian business persons in the
early 1900s to reach a mass audience. Venerable but sadly defunct
newspapers like Dimts, (Voice) and Ye Zareytu Ethiopia (Ethiopia
Today) published a modest number of commercial advertisements (not
to be confused with the more numerous public announcements) and
certainly did not consider advertising income as important for their
survival as do private publications today. The print media, like
all other media in the country was constrained to say the least
by ideological shackles and this was reflected in the quality, quantity
and format of advertisements allowed.
The emergence of the private press in the early 1990’s resulted
in very direct terms in the establishment of advertising and promotional
firms, mostly and not surprisingly by media workers in state media,
theatre and other areas.
Print advertising in Ethiopia, particularly in newspapers and magazines,
is pervasive but remains as bland as any of ETV’s offerings.
In fact, one is more likely to find most if not all the ethics and
properties of the advertising profession abused on any given ad
on a randomly chosen page.
At this point, it is time we review what constitutes a well-produced
advertisement and rate Ethiopian print advertising accordingly on
a scale of 1-10.
Advertising Benchmarks
1. Factual integrity:
The cardinal rule of advertising - Exaggerate but never fabricate
qualities that the product does not have. Read in this light, most
of our print adverts hardly rate a single point. Products such as
batteries, tea, soaps, shoes, cosmetics, services such as dentistry,
catering, colleges and others have published for them ads with outrageous
claims.
Rating =1
2. Cultural sensitivity:
Advertisements should be in tune with the cultural realities of
the target market. In this respect, Ethiopian ads and commercials
are not offensive at all although the overwhelmingly urbanized style
of most does not adequately portray the rural aspect of the nation
at large.
Rating = 4
3. Provocative good test:
Yes advertising is a mine field. The trick is how to remain culturally
sensitive while trying to be provocative. Taste is the key. A provocative
ad with some good copy editing will retain its cultural flavor well.
In this regard, ads in provocative good taste are few and far between.
Rating = 2
4. Innovative:
Innovation is the Achilles heel of Ethiopian advertising. It seems
conformity is the rule rather than the exception. It is hoped that
our ad agencies will become more innovative as the industry matures.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Till then, we must give them
a big fat ‘0’ for innovation.
Rating = 0
5. Concise:
The best ads are those packaged in a concise production. Brevity
is everything. There is too much text and if it weren’t for
the high cost of advertising space ads would have been even longer.
Rating = 2
6. High production standards:
Believe it or not, the quality of production, at least in print
media, is the strong point of Ethiopian advertising. In fact, graphic
design has outstripped ad copy creativity. Rating = 6
To be continued …
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