Nigerian commercials actually hurt sales

Lagos - A study carried out by the International association of professional media consultants has determined that Nigerian commercials actually impact negatively on sales of the products being advertised.

According to the association, it would have been better for most consumer products in Nigeria if the companies producing them did not bother to create advertisements to sell them.

The association further said that worldwide, commercials which hurt the sales of the product being advertised are a rare occurrence, and when it does happen, the offending adverts are usually quickly pulled of the air - but not in Nigeria.

"It seems that Nigerian companies are constantly competing to see who can come up with the worst commercials to advertise their products," said a senior member of the association, "We really don't understand it."

But rather than blame the phenomena on poor management decisions, the association opined that as it is Nigeria, other factors may be at work.

"We have given it much thought and we are all of the opinion that it's some sort of tax scam. Either that or maybe these companies are actually experiencing more demand for their products than they can handle so they are intentionally running terrible ad campaigns so as to reduce demand."

The association refused to give examples of Nigerian consumer products which have suffered from bad commercials, explaining that to do so might further negatively impact on such brands.

A senior member of the association however said that there are certain toothpaste brands sold in Nigeria that he would never touch, certain mobile networks he'll never even take calls from, bleach brands he’ll rather die than buy, and banks that he'll never deposit his money with.

- Oluchucks Adewaziri