LAIF Awards: Steve Babaeko calls for review of “self promo ad” entries
More than two months after the 2016 Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival (LAIF), controversies has continued to trail the event as stakeholders are calling for a review of entry requirements. Chief Creativity Officer/CEO X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko recently lent his voice to the clamour as he challeneged the LAIF management team on the need to review the rules for accepting “self promo ad” entries.
Some critics have argued that ‘self promo ad’ or advocacy ad falls short of the principle and definition of advertising, which demands that an ad must be commissioned by a client. They have argued that such ad should not be accepted in LAIF or entered for multiple categories.
MARKETNG EDGE gathered that a number of agencies had petitioned the LAIF management on the need to check self promo ad entries.
“Most of the complaints against 2016 LAIF awards have to do with “self promo” ads. The current idea of using one self promo ad to win across several categories should be reviewed,” Babaeko, who is Publicity Secretary of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and Vice Chairman of LAIF management said.
Babaeko is also not satisfed with the level of organisation and transparency demostrated at the awards. he said a lot has to be done to bring the annual event to the level of some of the international advertising awards. In order to achieve this, he advised that the jury should be made up of non-practising admen.
“From the organisation of the 2016 LAIF award and matters arising, it becomes clear that we still have a lot of work to do in terms of looking for better ways to organize ourselves and bringing more transparency into the award especially at the jury level.
“For instance for the position of the Jury, the organisers should source people who are good creatives but are no longer actively working for any agency to fill the positions. If this is done, partisanship can be reduced if not totally eliminated. This is necessary because when you select the jury from creative directors of agencies with entries as it’s currently being done, partisanship becomes inherent in their ad ratings and judgments.
“There are quite a number of solid creatives who no longer work for any agency, some may have even moved to client side but they are solid creatives regardless of the changing of garbs, so if you get them involved in this process, they shall be fair and independent minded. They are likely to make a good job of the process.”
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