Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and the Nigerian Olympic Dim

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are here, and from August 5 – 21, the world will focus on premium Sporting activities. Attention is high, so is the opportunity-to-see. Corporate brands take marketing advantage, people and nation brands too. Flags are flown, anthems are played, medals are won, records are broken, creeds are projected, races fostered, ideologies are entrenched, beliefs are reinforced, stereotypes are reawakened, prejudices are doused, or pretended to be.

In the spirit, one of the biggest smartphone brands in the world, and privileged Olympic sponsor, Samsung, is cashing in. Accordingly, the mega tech company issued the 101-second Samsung Official Rio Olympics TVC, One World, One Anthem. The commercial celebrates the world, its people, and made to bring the world together in unity, in harmony, in one voice, with one anthem.

The TVC sampled anthems of 15 countries, four of them African, excluding Nigeria, Africa’s biggest market for Samsung smartphones. Even though the anthem offered great sing-along opportunities, karaoke-style, it still doesn’t hold much for Nigerians, or the Nigerian television-viewing audience. This isn’t far-fetched since the company had chosen to exclude images and words about this huge Samsung market from their calculations.

And talking about marketing calculations, or rationale, even for artistic or creative values, one wonders how anything Nigerian couldn’t find its way into the now very popular Samsung One World, One Anthem TVC, with quite an instructive payoff, Samsung Galaxy S7 edge #DoWhatYouCant.

Even when it is well agreed that the dynamics of creating commercials can be quite daunting, you still expect that creativity will help accommodate a country as Nigeria, welcoming to Samsung brands, friendly to Samsung dreams, and undoubtedly fair to Samsung profits, like no other country on the African continent. Samsung is one of the best-selling phone brands in Nigeria, and Nigeria is Samsung’s biggest market in Africa.

Yet, Botswana, Malawi, Tunisia, and South Africa were able to make it onto the list of countries mentioned in the TVC, but not Nigeria. And so, you try to find an explanation for the inclusion of these other African countries, or more poignantly, an explanation for the exclusion of Nigeria.

Just in line with the lyrics of the anthem, the Harmony Samsung enjoys in Nigeria, with the Nigerian regulatory bodies and Nigerian market is remarkable; for even when the business was Young and Free, it exploited all opportunities and made fine profits; and with Growing Hearts we supported them to Rise over competing brands; Samsung must be Happy and Glorious for their bottom line from their Nigerian market, but perhaps not as grateful; because now that The Day of Glory Has Arrived, and yes, we can see, they chose to be exclusive, by throwing this same Nigerian market into insignificance.

Even if only for geography, presence, popularity, markets, and Olympic history, Botswana and Malawi shouldn’t ever be considered ahead of Nigeria. Not even for our dim medal prospects. And on the list of iconic African countries, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa hold the pride of place. Egypt for its ancient history, South Africa for its modern story, and Nigeria for its sundry reputation: Africa’s and black world’s most populous, and best African economy (when the TVC was shot).

So what really explains the exclusion of Nigeria, our anthem, and our images? Were those other countries selected randomly or through a meticulous exercise, with criteria yet unfathomable? Was our anthem found too poor to be sampled, brand Nigeria too poor in appeal, or the market not rich enough to reward?

What exactly is Samsung’s message to Nigerians?

In fairness, I do not think the brand deliberately set out to undermine the Nigerian market, but it sure did that without trying. Although Samsung’s broad intent with the TVS was to break geographical barriers, it succeeded in creating emotional barriers with Nigerians so endeared to the Samsung brand of smartphones. In the brand’s quest to write a story on humanity, it arrogantly ignored the fact that no such story will be complete without Nigeria, even if only in representation.

Samsung should accord recognition to, and indeed appreciate a market where it had operated, and indeed, flourished in. Nigerians are warm, accommodating, and we offer peace to our friends, especially when they recognise us and our place accordingly. On this slight, United We Shall Stand!

Our message is for Samsung and its Galaxy S7 edge to #DoWhatItShould.

-‘Dele Dele-Olukoju