Nigerian Brands Running Adverts On CNN, Others To Pay N100,000 Fine – Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed says Nigerian brands that run adverts on international media companies like the Cable News Network (CNN) will be mandated to pay N100,000 fine.

Speaking on NTA programme on Monday, the minister explained that Nigerian brands that run adverts on international stations will pay a fine of N100,000 each time their foreign-produced adverts are aired on TV stations showing in Nigeria.

Mohammed explained that brands like Guinness, which run adverts during English Premier League (EPL) games, must compulsorily advertise during Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) matches.

According to him, these rules are embedded in the amended broadcasting code and it was the only way to help the local league thrive.

“Let’s assume you have brought in La Liga, and during the matches, Guinness is advertised, we will compel you, we will compel Guinness to also advertise when we are playing a local league,” he said.

“That is the only way we can grow this industry but as can be expected, we have had very few supporters.

“If you do an advert in South Africa, you put it on CNN and we look at that advert and we see that the advert was not made in Nigeria but actually made in South Africa, or you see that five times a day, it is on CNN, you pay half a million to us. The half a million will go to the Content Development Fund.

“What is common today is to see products made in Nigeria but the advert for those products are actually probably done in South Africa or in the US.

“So, we amended the code to say that if a product you want to advertise in Nigeria territory is made in Nigeria, grown in Nigeria or processed in Nigeria, then you must make sure that the advert is also produced in Nigeria.

“Gulder is made, processed in Nigeria. If you go to South Africa to produce an advert which you are going to air to Nigerians because Nigerians consume Gulder, what we have amended the code to say is that for every time that advert is aired in Nigeria either on radio or television, you pay a fine of N100,000.

“We are not stopping you from making your production in America or South Africa but if you are going to advertise in Nigerian territory, you will pay a fine of N100,000.

“In other words, if Gulder makes an advert in South Africa and it is shown on NTA, if it shows it 10 times a day, it will pay N100,000 fine 10 times.”

KanyiDaily recalls that the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) had also announced that  it will start vetting social media adverts for a regular Fee of N25,000.