The lost art of painting advertisements

By Dennis Ringersma on 24 June 2011

In the Netherlands television commercials change every month or so, posters on bus stops are changed on a weekly basis and social media campaigns adapt their messages in real time to current headlines. Lifespan of commercials is short and, if anything, abundant. Not so in Malawi. One of the most striking forms of Malawian marketing is through stone and masonry billboards that have their messages painted on. Their lifespan is somewhat longer than most Dutch advertising forms: it will last until the paint fades. 

After a few days in Blantyre, one of Malawi’s major cities and industrial hub, it struck me. On some unconscious level it had already been nagging my brain but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. What struck me was: Malawi lacks advertisements. You see, in the Netherlands we have grown accustomed to commercial messages being all around. On posters, billboards, television, flyers,  on websites, web services (…) well you catch my drift. After my ‘revelation’, I started taking note of forms of advertisement, specifically posters, billboards, flyers and the like. I noticed that, even in a large city as Blantyre, the commercial messages in these forms are limited. I distinctly recall a large billboard at a city landmark on which a ‘multi-functional’ receipt printer is being advertised. Its faded colours and dated technology told me it had adorned the board for quite some time. This example is not an exception. The few billboards in Blantyre displayed similar messages and the range of messages is quite limited. They show banks, mobile phone services or beer. Other forms of advertisement were not easily found. Posters and flyers are found on every Dutch corner, in Malawi you hardly see any.

Its faded colours and dated technology told me it had adorned the board for quite some time

But then again, who or what are the advertisers advertising for? Remember: most Malawians have to manage with less than one U.S. dollar per day. On Malawi’s major roads there are extremely few cars to my Dutch eyes. And the cars you see are mostly old or trucks or mini busses. Also, if you want to do some fun shopping, don’t go to Malawi. Choice is severely limited. Even in stores such as South African owned Game and PEP, you’ll get one or two options for every available product. The same stores host dozens of choices per product in South Africa. 

who or what are the advertisers advertising for?

Back to the masonry, the hand painted billboards. There is a nostalgic look about them. It reminds of the Dutch television show “Toen was geluk nog heel gewoon” (i.e. “The Honeymooners”) and Dutch advertisements that, in the fifties, adorned the walls of buildings. A few of them have recently been restored in my former hometown of Leeuwarden. A particularly interesting one depicts a flying cigarette with the subtext “ ROOKT!”: commanding onlookers to smoke. In my opinion Malawi with its billboards captures some of that nostalgia of years past in Holland. The same Holland where municipalities strive to restore fifties advertisements. The same Holland where in the fifties our grandparents had to get around with a few guilders a week. Were choices where limited and stress of too many choices was unheard of.  Not unlike Malawi for that matter.

Now nostalgia always has a pleasant feel about itself. Nevertheless I would like to stress that there is nothing pleasant about one U.S. dollar a day to feed your family.  In the Netherlands we got on top of things. The abundance of advertisements all in competition for our euros are a witness of that. They are a witness of our wealth. The reverse is the case for “The warm heart of Africa”: Malawi. 

The abundance of advertisements all in competition for our euros are a witness of [wealth]

tagged with: africa, advertising

Comments