Coca-cola’s Afro-centric
Xmas
By Jossy Idam (jidam14yahoo.com)
Saturday,
December 22, 2007
A soft drink giant, Coca – Cola Nigeria has lived up
to its name. Few days back, the company successfully constructed
and lighted the tallest Christmas tree in Africa.
Commuters and people passing by the National Arts Thearter,
Iganmu, Lagos, must have seen the edifice gradually rising
and spiking the sky. The 30- meters long marvel was official
unveiled last Sunday, December 16, 2007, with funfair.
The event was earlier billed for Sunday, December 9th but
the construction company handling it, Dormanlong was still
weighed down by the task. A frantic call and e-mail by the
company’s media handler, JSP and a direct mail from
its marketing director, Kofi Amegashie rescheduled the event.
As a prelude and appetizer, Coca- cola Nigeria dispatched
a 30-tonne entertainment caravan into the street of Lagos.
The mobile carnival touched motherless homes and gave out
Christmas gifts to the needy and people of the city. The caravan,
Saturday Sun learnt would visit a number of cities across
the country to mark the Yuletide.
At six in the evening of the D-day, the select few invited
for it were treated to a red carpet- reception and cocktail.
The main entrance of the National Arts Theatre- Entrance C
was gilded with a long red carpet.
Afro Santa
Guests were pleasantly surprised and welcomed by two ever-smiling
and friendly Afro Santas and not Santa Claus. In this, Coca-cola
shattered the myth that Santa must be a white bearded old
man in jump suite and cap, riding a reindeer- drawn carriage
through a snow- flecked world.
Wearing red robes with African motifs, the Afro Santas mingled
with guests-dishing out warm handshake and embrace and even
joked and drank coke with people. Santa at once became real
and transmuted to an amiable uncle who at a season like this
would regale you with gifts and tales of wonder.
According to a legend, Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) live at
North pole with his wife, where he spends the year making
toys with the help of his elves. There he receives letters
from children asking for Christmas gifts.
On the eve of Christmas, he loads his sleigh with toys and
flies, around drawn by eight reindeer, stopping at each child’s
house. He slides down the chimney and leaves the gifts. Then
after, refreshes himself with the milk and cookies left for
him by the kids in the house. The current image was further
enhanced by an advertisement created by an illustrator, Haddon
Sundblum, for Coca-Cola Company in 1931. Artists over the
centuries had created different images of the mythical figure.
As the evening wore nicely, guests were ushered into the open-
air setting of the event. People sat around the imposing edifice
and were entertained lavishly with Coke and Burn, the company’s
brand of energy- booster, small chops, live instrumental jazz
performance and Christmas carol sang in native tongues and
drums. Yemi Sax and Afrique Excel band livened up the night
with their renditions.
Magical moment
The main highlight of the night came when the events compere,
Adesua Onyenukwe called out the managing director of the National
Arts Threatre, Dr Ahmed Yerima and CEO of Task Group, Leo
Stan Ekeh and a top executive of Coca-Cola, Roland, to climb
the base of the Christmas tree and light it with a flaming
torch. Described as representing “all that is truly
beautiful and Nigerian and best way of re-branding Nigeria,”
the two national icons aided Roland to light the long-awaited
Christmas tree. The magic moment came when Roland dipped the
torch in a big clay pot and bingo- the tree spangled up the
night sky with colourful light.
It was further accentuated by breath-taking firework display.
The marketing director of Coca-Cola, Kofi Amageshie praised
the team of engineers who made the event possible and said
that the event is meant to encourage Nigerians to become positive
agents of change. “By creating positive, magical moments,
Christmas and indeed the whole holiday season becomes an even
more refreshing and exciting experience,” he said.
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