ARCON inducts new fellows, tasks 45 inductees to uphold advertising industry standards
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) recently held an induction ceremony and inducted 45 Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the advertising profession in Nigeria.
The Advertising profession Fellowship, being the highest level in the profession, 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 theory and practice of the advertising profession.
In his address during the induction ceremony held at Sheraton Hotels Ikeja, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, Director-General of ARCON, stated that advertising statutorily became a regulated profession in Nigeria following the promulgation of the Advertising Practitioners Registration Act in 1988 now replaced by the ARCON Act 2022 provided for different categories of members, including Student, Associate, Full Member and Fellow, and specified the academic and professional qualifications for registration of practitioners into any of the membership categories.
To become a Fellow; “The criteria include good academic qualification, consistent engagement in the practice of marketing communications for a minimum of fifteen years, involvement in the management of outstanding marketing communications campaigns, service to the profession at the level of the ARCON Governing Council or Industry Sectoral Associations, intellectual or professional expressions, mentorship or endowments, among others”. Furthermore; “Fellowship of the Advertising profession is the highest status of membership of the profession. It is conferred on practitioners who have been registered as (full) members of the profession and have met other criteria as well as significantly impacted the development of the profession”, Dr. Fadolapo added.
At the ceremony, forty-five practitioners were conferred as Fellows adding to the number of active Fellows of the council. The induction of fellows that have become a yearly conferement since 2022 is imperative as existing distinguished Fellows are already in their retirement, while a few have passed on to eternal glory. Like the ones before them, the newly inducted Fellows are expected to conduct themselves and their marketing communications practice with appropriate dignity and distinction as well as serve as pillars of leading lights for the profession.
The Doyen of Advertising, Dr Biodun Shobanjo, who was recently inducted as the first African into the Hall of Fame at the Loeries Awards in South Africa, charged practitioners to continue to uphold the honour of the advertising profession.
He also urged ARCON to look beyond the number of years of practice that qualify practitioners to be inducted as fellowship members, but to think about the values that come with being a Fellow.
Chief Emmanuel Ajufo, Chairman of the Fellowship Selection Committee, noted that the 45 people being inducted have gone through scrutiny and have met the criteria in practice and conduct of advertising. He added that 48 applications applied but only 45 of the applicants were selected and certified by the committee. He congratulated the inductees and urged them to continue to make the industry proud.
