New TVC: ‘The Rainmaker’ as Airtel’s metaphor for unreliable data

No doubt, the launch of The Rainmaker, a two-minute Television Commercial, by telecoms service provider, Airtel Nigeria, in Lagos, recently, typifies the continuation of the brand’s story-telling culture; that had seen it produce similar  campaigns such as: Mechanic, Amaka Must Go, Port Tailor and a host of others, in the past.

Though it shares same story-telling features with others,  before it, a major distinctive element in the new commercial, is the decision of the brand to go cultural, this time around. For the custodians of the brand, nothing more confirms the readiness of the brand to always identify with the culture of its operating environments, than this latest TVC.

Despite being the  villain, in the two-minute commercial, the rainmaker and concept of rainmaking are, undoubtedly, African. For instance, till date,  in some African communities, individuals, desirous of having rain-free outings must be ready to respect the rainmaker factor,  or have their events  deluged by heavy rains.

Little wonder, the monarch, Jide Kosoko, the veteran Nollywood actor, in the short movie, does not take kindly to the inability of the rainmaker contacted by the community to  ensure rain-free events. And the gravity of the rainmaker’s inaction can be seen in his being whisked away by the monarch’s security details on the orders of their principal.

Interestingly, Tokunbo Adodo, Vice President, Corporate Brands, Airtel Nigeria, will quickly draw a line of comparison between the frustration of  dealing with an ineffectual rainmaker in the commercial, and that experienced by individual with an unreliable data.

“We understand the frustration when data is unreliable, just as the Rainmaker character in the commercial. But our brand promise is that we’ll always deliver  the data that works,” explained Adodo, at the unveiling of the commercial.

But can The Rainmaker be described as an apt representation of the rich African culture? The purely African costumes, the setting and cast in the commercial are without doubt a celebration of the African culture.

But, it might take quiet some efforts to convince the traditionalists that the ‘highly’ unreliable  rainmaker in the short, but inspiring movie, is a good representation of the culture and tradition of the African people.

“This is not meant to achieve that. The Rainmaker in this commercial is just for the commercial. It’s for the movie, and not a representation of the whole process of rainmaking in the African culture,” replied Emeka Oparah, Vice President, Corporate Communications/CSR Director Airtel Nigeria, while asked of the implications of portraying rainmaking as an ineffectual traditional effort, in this part of the globe.

The debut of the new TVC, has no doubt come to raise the nation’s advertising stakes.

Perhaps, one of such stakes is the fact that, unlike in the past, the nation’s marketing communications practitioners are beginning to take up the responsibility of telling the African story.  Noah’s Ark, the agency behind the new TVC, seems to be leading the pack in this direction; in the past few years, in tune with its management’s avowed commitments not to allow aliens tell the African story.

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