Engr. Daniel Opuene, the president, Beauty of Africa International Pageant, BAIP, has lambasted brands in Nigeria for opting for musicians and actors while choosing representatives and face ambassadors for their organisations.
According to him, the models and Beauty Queens have been often neglected and denied opportunities while artists enjoy most of the opportunities.
In an interview with DAILY POST, the pageant expert noted that models are the best choice for any commercial advert as common in most European countries and other parts of the world.
Mr Daniel who has been in the fashion and entertainment industry over nearly two decades stressed that the uncanny repudiation has limit most models and should be properly addressed.
“In Nigeria, brands don’t place much value on models and queens”, says the Bayelsa-born entertainment influencer.
“As an ardent traveller, I have been to many countries and when I see billboards and even watch some of the commercial adverts on television, I see models and crowned beauty queens behind almost all of them and I get intrigued.
“Africa and especially Nigeria needs a total reform on that area. Here, we give most of the jobs suited for models to actresses and even artistes based on the power of their social network presence.
“Imagine a comedian used as an ambassador for a cream or facial beauty brand and you wonder how does this connect?
“Are we being fair enough to people in that chosen career who have devoted much of their time building these exceptional qualities which by far and end gives a brand the much appreciable look from the outside?”
He added that brands should instead look beyond social media influence and choose the right people to represent them.
“I understand that most organisations are looking for immediate sales which can be easily generated by hiring notable entertainers to represent them.
“However, this should be carefully done while also making rooms for models too. I believe there are good models and Beauty Queens who have reputations that will effect any organisation positively. We need to encourage these set of people and be all-inclusive in our selections.”