About Kenny
I first met Kenny in the year 2000 or thereabout. Then I was working at Insight-Grey and he was hoping to join us as a Copywriter. He didn't have that much experience, but I couldn't miss the passion that burned in his eyes. Things never worked out. We parted ways and I never met him again until late 2006 when I was invited for an interview/photo session for Creativiti magazine. Just like back then, I still couldn't miss the passion. Not only had he plied his stuff at different agencies, he was a key promoter of the magazine and already working on a book on advertising. And now he's lured me into writing a foreword for his book!

About the book
This is about the second book on advertising written by young Nigerian copywriters in the span of two years. Not bad for an industry that had always been too busy to document experience and learning. But this book is not about experience (you've got to be a Wayne Rooney to write about a career that's yet to reach its peak); it's about raising the bar. That's what I find very fresh and interesting about this effort. You may agree or disagree with the thinking being propounded in this book. That's beside the point. The point here is we've got in Kenny a budding conceptual theorist with a touch of pragmatism. The aim of the book as espoused in the MAP (Motivation/Activation/ Participation) thinking is to help chart a new path to creating more engaging work. It's about waking up to the reality of today's consumer. We'll be fooling ourselves to think the consumer is an idiot. The table has not only turned in the more advanced economies (thanks to the internet in particular); the average Nigerian consumer is fast developing a thick skin to advertising as we know it. The campaigns that get talked about are the ones that pack resonance; the types that go beneath the skin of the consumer; the ones that engage the consumer in a conversation where the brand is not playing Boss. That's the thrust of this book.

About our industry
The question for me is: Is our industry in that space being canvassed by this book yet? Or better still, are we ready to stretch out of our comfort zone? The sad truth is, most of what we do is still in the sphere of the traditional. Unfortunately, we also suffer from a huge dose of complacency and mediocrity. On a general note we are yet to come to terms with where the world of creative thinking is headed and how we hope to join the party. That world requires deep and simple thinking translated into fresh resonant ideas. Ask yourself: How many Nigerian agencies have a respectable account planning department/unit? Even where this exists, how are the planning inputs deployed to create work that connects with the audience and thus tell the Nigerian story without being patronizing? Why should everything outdoor be on billboards? Why should almost every radio ad end with people laughing? Why should every big campaign be composed of Radio, TV, Print and Outdoor? These are some of the burning questions we need to find answers to. Like it or hate it, we should thank Kenny for starting a conversation about our industry with this book. Remember what Ola Rotimi said about wars and conversations in Kurunmi ? You only know their beginning; you never know their end. I hope this conversation liberates us from the shackles of traditionalism and bring us into the thick of 21 st century thinking.