The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) at the weekend inducted 38 Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the advertising profession in the country, including the Director General of ARCON, Fadolapo Olalekan.
For many professions, the fellowship is identified as the zenith of professional attainment and is usually conferred according to the measure of a person’s knowledge, experience, competence and impact in the thesis and praxis of the advertising profession.
Earlier in his remark shortly after his induction after a colourful ceremony held at Sheraton Hotel Lagos, Dr. Fadolapo charged newly inducted fellows to take leadership responsibility, saying that the fellowship category is a privilege and a call to duty.
The ARCON DG explained that to date, 162 practitioners have been conferred with the fellowship, and the latest 38 will be admitted to the Body of Fellows during the 2023 National Advertising Conference in December.
According to him, “Fellowship category is a privilege, it is not just because you have been there for 15 years, we need to look at the contribution of that person, look at his disciplinary record, ethical record and so many other things like that, so those are the thing that we have considered before they are been elevated to the category of fellowship.”
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“Fellowship is a call to duty, they need to rededicate themselves to what they have been doing because we picked from different categories now they are responsible for leadership, and mentorship, they should use their leadership trait to ensure that their newer ones that are coming to the industry to look at them as a model.
“If you are inducted as a fellow of any profession, you should know that it’s a special category and you are expected to take the leadership responsibility of the profession.”
One of the inductees, Otunba Biodun Olasunkanmi Ajiboye said the fellowship of the advertising profession is the highest status of membership of the profession, hence it demands for higher responsibility and a deeper mentorship role for young practitioners.
“I’ve been practicing advertising for 30 years. What that means is that I will continue with the practice modules and give my best shot. Pride of advertising never diminishes. Now, advertising is different from what we used to know it as advertising has become a social factor, whereby ideas fly on the social media now, that gives advertising practitioners a bigger role to ensure that whatever it feels that comes on stream, and the form of messaging, or advertising concept, was properly regulated, so as not to cause infiltration.
“Everybody now has a platform to throw their ideas. However, not all those ideas meet advertising standards. So there must be strong and stringent regulations within the industry for us to be able to do it well.
Also speaking at the event, the former president of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Ajufo, congratulated all the newly inducted fellows and urged them to be dedicated.
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Commenting on behalf of the newly inducted fellows, Group Managing Director of the Republicom Group, Tunji Adeyinka said, “Going through the list of inductees, I must say, it is humbling to see some people who I consider as mentors because they have done a lot of work and I can make bold to say that these fellows will carry high the flag of the Council even beyond the next generation. We are also grateful to the careful scrutiny of the council led by Emmanuel Ajufo and we also thank ARCON for its diligence.”
Top industry personalities that grace the event are, Tolulope Medebem, President of the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN); Sola Akinsiku, President of the Outdoor Association of Nigeria (OAAN); Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, Tunji Adeyinka, Group Managing Director of the Republicom Group; Chris Ndibe, CEO of CARLCON Group; Agama Emieseifa James, Head of Corporate Communications at Julius Berger Nigeria plc; Adetu Owoseni, Chairman/Group CEO of Ogilvy Nigeria Limited and Algorithm Media Limited; and Alaiyeluwa Oba (Dr.) Adeoriyomi Oluwasesan Oyebo (HRM), among others.