Pablo Hxncho
Afro-dancehall performer, Pablo Hxncho, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)’s decision to prohibit celebrities from endorsing alcoholic products.
In a post on his Facebook wall, he wrote, “Alcohol is synonymous with celebrities therefore everywhere in the world these celebrities are used in advertising these products.”
He said the breweries frequently collaborate with celebrities around the world to market their products, stressing that the partnership between Heineken Beer and the James Bond film series is a good example.
“In fact, many famous rappers not only advertise alcoholic products but also own their own alcoholic companies,” he disclosed.
“For some reason, the FDA has prohibited breweries from utilising celebrities to sell their products for the past six years in Ghana, where leaders can be bullies. If these businesses aren’t allowed to turn a profit, one has to wonder how they expect them to pay more in taxes. Our nation behaves like a hamlet at times,” he said.
“How can you stop alcoholic companies from advertising their products if alcohol is not a banned substance?” he asked.
“Interestingly, breweries and alcoholic companies from other sensible and developed countries are using our own celebrities to advertise their products, which are shown in our country. Nevertheless, our FDA lacks the authority to outlaw these foreign businesses,” he added.
He claimed that the FDA’s decision shows the injustice of the government toward Ghanaians since it is hurting local businesses while benefiting international ones.
“The truth is that no amount of advertising will persuade me to start consuming alcohol if I don’t already. If I do, however, like drinking, I will look for it even in the absence of an advertisement. Even though Akpeteshie is the most popular alcoholic beverage, no one has ever seen an advertisement for the product. Thus, the FDA ought to cease its harassment of these breweries,” he pointed out.
Pablo clarified that the main goal of these commercials, rather than necessarily persuading non-drinkers to start drinking, is to have brewers compete with one another for customers, adding that these prohibitions are therefore pointless.
According to him, since these businesses are important sources of revenue for our celebrities, these needless bans have had a severe detrimental effect on the creative sector.
He mentioned that because of this, celebrities are unable to match the success of their counterparts in nearby nations who are helped by their local breweries.
He hinted that the FDA has never offered any statistics or factual support for the prohibition on celebrity endorsements. “All we seem to witness are leaders who, by virtue of their position of power, have devolved into bullies,” he added.