"If Coca-Cola Still Advertises, Why Shouldn’t I?" — Iyabo Ojo Justifies Using Skits and Dance for Movie Promotion

Iyabo Ojo, a Nollywood actress, recently commented on the growing controversy surrounding film producers who use dance and skits to promote their productions. What did she say? You have to change with the times or risk falling behind.

Iyabo vehemently addressed the criticism that some filmmakers, like as Funke Akindele, have faced for employing unusual techniques to generate attention about their films in a video that was uploaded to her Instagram page. Additionally, Sis did not attend the game.

“This is something that has been happening as far back as when I joined the Yoruba film industry,” she said. “The only thing different is just the method in which we do it.”

According to Iyabo, marketing isn’t new, it’s just gone digital.

She walked us down memory lane, back to the OG days of Nollywood when producers had to promote their films by hand, literally.

“We’ll stay at the gates [of the National Theatre]; we’ll be beating drums, dancing, singing cultural songs, trying to lure them to come and watch our own movies.”

Imagine a full-on parade just to get eyeballs on your movie. Now that’s hustle.

She went on to explain how producers used to tour multiple cities – Ibadan, Osogbo, Akure, and Ilorin – just to get the word out.

“Sometimes we do a tour. We go to Ibadan, and from Ibadan, we go to Osogbo. We go to Akure. We go to Ekiti. We go to Ilorin,” she recalled.

The goal of all of this is to get people to theatres. She claims that social media dancing and content creation are much easier now than they were back then.

“You can’t bring out a movie and just put it in cinema and just expect people to watch it,” she said, clearly calling out the passive marketing mindset.

In a media-saturated world where everyone’s attention span is shorter than a TikTok loop, Iyabo believes you have to do what it takes to stand out.

Her golden nugget of wisdom? “If Coca-Cola is still running adverts back to back on their products, I wonder why I or anyone else can’t use any method to run an advert and create awareness.”

Iyabo also emphasised that “everybody doesn’t have to dance.” But if that’s your lane, go for it. If not, “do drama,” she says. “That’s why you’re an actor or an artist in the first place.”

Iyabo is essentially advising producers to embrace their ideas and not worry about coming across as unprofessional. Do whatever it takes to convince people to sit down, whether it’s dancing, creating a play, or erecting your own billboard in your community.

Because in the words of Iyabo herself, “You must constantly advertise.”