By Oghale Mafuru

MARKETING EDGE on TV, the foremost and leading brand-centric, advertising and marketing television program will be hosting the renowned advertising legend and Managing Director of SO&U, Udeme Ufot, this Wednesday on TVC News Dstv channel 418 and WAP TV at 8pm.

The program which has three segments will also be rebroadcast on Thursday, WAP TV at 9:30am.

The advertising juggernaut whose iconic works still resonates deeply within the Nigerian advertising industry will be continuing on the conversation he started last week where he commended the level of innovation and creativity among professionals in the industry.

Udeme Ufot is one of the pioneers of advertising in Nigeria. He stands tall as one the pathfinders, responsible for some of the great moments in Nigerian advertising history, and whose exploits have provided the lever for what the industry has become.

He got his first stint at advertising in Desmark Advertising, Calabar and then got a job with Insight Communications. His achievements at Insight gave him the confidence to explore deeper and persuaded him to experiment with establishing his own agency. Along with other like minds – Gbemi Sagay and Julia Oku – Udeme Ufot set out in 1990 to establish what is now known as SO&U.

At a personal level, Udeme has achieved all that could possibly be achieved in an industry which he has bestridden like a colossus. He is a past President of the then Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria AAPN, now Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

Udeme served on the media sub-committee of the Celebration Planning Committee for Nigeria’s 40th Independence Anniversary in 2000, managing publicity for the committee. He distinguished himself so well that he was invited by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) to serve as chairman of its media sub-committee for three summits. And, in 2009, for the 12th edition of the annual event, he was made co-chairman of the main organizing committee.

The icing on the cake for Udeme’s personal professional achievement was his appointment as chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), by former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in March, 2015. It was an appointment many saw as a befitting and the ultimate reward for an individual who has given so much to the development of the industry.

Before then, in 2014, he had received the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).