Emirates, a leader in global flight operations and hospitality services, is marketing the talent, energy, creativity and global appeal of Nigerian and African artistes in its new pan-African brand advertising campaign.
Emirates, reputed to be the world’s fastest growing airline, is taking the message of ‘New Africa’, packaged in a new video, to the world. The campaign video highlights the achievements of Nigerian-born Abiola Oke and amplifies the energy and rich potentials of Africa, a statement by Emirates’ media managers in Nigeria, made available to The Neighbourhood, has revealed.
The campaign, which also features an original song with energy-filled music, boasts of inspiring lyrics that reflects the beats of contemporary African electronic club music.
Produced by Blinky Bill, the song has popular sounds and rhythms that are currently dominating the radio, blasting out of taxicabs and on the dance floors across the continent. “Music is a unifying language not just across Africa, but around the world. The song does away with cultural clichés and instead celebrates the vibrant energy of contemporary Africa”, the statement noted.
Accordinh to the statement, Abiola Oke left New York and a career on Wall Street at the age of 31 to return to his hometown Lagos, Nigeria, as the CEO and Publisher of OkayAfrica, a digital media platform. “His business is dedicated to African music, film, culture and entertainment”, it added.
It was further stated, “Paying tribute to a new generation of African disrupters who are making their mark globally across music, fashion, literature and the arts, the campaign celebrates the cultural renaissance taking over Africa. The short films produced by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) for Emirates, tells the stories of unique individuals from different parts of the continent. Poised to become cultural ambassadors for Africa to the world, they share a common passion to bring their global exposure and influences to their own local journeys, as they discover what it means to be ‘home’.
“It is impossible to ignore the energy and talent coming out of Africa today, whether in music, fashion, sport or art. We’re seeing a greater awareness of a strong, proud African identity – while being very connected to a broad, global culture. We wanted to join the conversation and celebrate amazing, inspiring stories of people constantly pushing boundaries and challenging African stereotypes. To us, that is what travel is about, to find a common ground that helps us connect, to question, to be curious, and I believe this campaign does just that in taking Emirates closer to the heart of our audience in a way that is authentic,” said Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President – Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand, Emirates.
Richard Pattinson, Head of BBC StoryWorks, said the new series taps into the deep creative strength of the public broadcaster to achieve the result. “This new series taps into the deep creative strength of the BBC to deliver a campaign that will capture the attention of our extensive and premium audiences in a way that no other publisher can”, Pattinson said while adding that t”he series gives us a closer look at the inspiring stories of pioneers who represent today’s Africa.”
Anoher African featured in the video is Nairobi-based “Blinky” Bill Sellanga, Kenyan musician, producer and DJ described as the embodiment of a renaissance in African music. “As part of the Kenyan art and music collective ‘Just A Band’; he has been redefining the modern African musical identity and has performed his music all over Africa, Europe and the rest of the world.”
Shanelle Nyasiase, another of the artistes on the roll, is a 21-year-old South Sudanese model who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Kenya. She had dreamt of becoming cabin crew but her journey took her to international catwalks in Milan and New York instead, where she has worked with some of the biggest international fashion brands.
