Can you imagine having to bury your loved one, creating a program in which his or her life is remembered in a respectful manner and having an entrepreneur talk about life insurance to the gathered grievers? This would be unheard of in the Netherlands. Yet, in Malawi it is common practise. In Malawi commercial messages and eulogies are a match.‬

‪“In Malawi commercial messages and eulogies are a match”‬

‪I ran into an example of this cultural norm whilst we were giving a training in Rumphi (Northern Malawi) for our research on a HIV/Aids educational method that also targets (sexual) abuse. One of the participants stood up during the lunch break and asked for everyone’s attention. A bag with all sorts of herbal, natural products was shown and what followed was a half an hour talk. The message was repeated after we concluded the training day at five o’clock.‬

‪We, as hosts and trainers were surprised to say the least. This wasn’t on the program! We wanted to utilise lunch for informal talks. But, being a stranger in a foreign country, you don’t want to start making a hassle. Especially if all the other attendees act as if this practise is normal. The day after I asked one of our partners in Malawi about this –in my eyes- strange behaviour. He told me that one can give messages at gatherings if you ask for permission from the crowd. Moreover,  people can deliver messages at funerals. If you want to promote your event or your product/service, you can during a funeral. So, messages about health products can be given at ceremonies of people that died of Aids. “You see, a healthy diet, health supplements, can boost the immune system of HIV patients, preventing them from going into Aids”, has he explained to me. Man. That message has got to hurt when you just buried your sister that had the infamous disease. Nonetheless it is given.‬

‪“[…] the main pretext for commercials at funerals is that death is common […]”‬

‪In my opinion there are three reasons for commercial at funerals to become a cultural norm. Firstly, as I wrote in my previous blog, marketing in Malawi is still in its infancy. Means by which messages can be spread are limited and people are not as easily fed up with commercials as they are in the Netherland;  where commercials are abundant and everyone hates TelSell. Secondly, word of mouth, partially due to the before mentioned reason, but most definitely due to Malawian culture is golden. People listen or at least pretend to listen. But, the main pretext for commercials at funerals is that death is common and emotion is not easily shown. Just yesterday I met a lady of 32 years, who was the single eldest of eleven brothers and sisters. She had only one sibling left. The Aids pandemic got most of them. She talked about it whilst doing laundry. Life goes on. Maybe this is also why commercial messages and eulogies in Malawi can go hand in hand: death happens. It’s part of life, just like commercials.
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