MOTHER'S DAY 2018 - THE NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE

So, the last of the Mother's Day celebrations for 2018 was observed on May 13, 2018 .Earlier in March, on the 11th to be precise, Mother's Day was celebrated in different parts of the world such as the United Kingdom and Nigeria. The general consensus is that there can never be too many celebrations to honour motherhood in all its ramifications.

The celebration of mother's Day was somewhat different here. How you ask? Well for one, I think we took the celebration and made it our 'own', injecting a healthy dose of Nigerian flavour to the world-wide celebrations. The result? The pride that comes from taking your narrative to the world. A leading Lagos based advertising agency SO & U whose blue-chip clientele includes Glo, Access Bank, Unilever, Indomie Noodles and Diageo came out with a viral Mother's Day campaign with a different perspective.

The social media campaign documented the different tools Nigerian mothers used to disciple their children or wards. You see, the average Nigerian parent especially mothers strongly believes in the biblical injunction which posits that sparing the rod inevitable spoils the child. Now rod here is subjective and open to different interpretations as seen from the various tools of the trade for making the Nigerian child tow the line of good behaviour.

Now from a design standpoint, the overall concept which in no small measure contributes to its resonance is simply brilliant, spot-on and highly effective. The neutrality and simplicity of the background is also commendable. Labelling of the various tools or implements reminded one of  biology classes! Then the popularity rating utilizing stars  is quirky and a stroke of genius. The icing on the cake with regards the design is the wrinkled texture of the background which evoked memories and nostalgia of time past. 

The Bini-speaking people of Edo State refer to the spatula as the "ugbeba" used for making staples such as eba

Hmmm.......the broom aka the Mumu Duster. Did some mother's actually use this for disciplining?  

Now, this one right here -the 'Brain Resetter' or Konk was my mom's go-to tool. She epitomized the axiom that if "it's not broken, why fix it?" She rarely deviated from the konk or knock because she believed in its efficacy! Just one 'konk' was effective for days. 

Now this was my Mom's go-to discipliner. One from her and the stars were circling like a halo over my head! 

In these days of trying to be both socially and politcally correct, this campaign was certainly a breath of much needed fresh air- being unapologetically Nigerian and telling our own story. I look foward to many of such narratives from various sectors be it architecture, fashion, food, art and other related industries. 

Photocredits: SO & U Advertising Agency/ Bellanaija