Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, has weighed in on the ongoing debate about movie producers dancing and creating skits to promote their films.
In a video posted to her Instagram page, Iyabo passionately addressed the backlash some filmmakers, like Funke Akindele, have received for using unconventional methods to create buzz around their movies.
“This is something that has been happening as far back as when I joined the Yoruba film industry. The only thing different is just the method in which we do it.”
Iyabo Ojo
According to Iyabo Ojo, marketing isn’t new, it’s just gone digital.
She walked down memory lane, back to the OG days of Nollywood when producers had to promote their films by hand, literally. “We’ll stay from the gates [of the National Theatre], we’ll be beating drums, dancing, singing cultural songs, trying to lure them to come and watch our own movies,” Iyabo Ojo said.
She also explained how producers used to tour multiple cities.
“Sometimes we do a tour. We go to Ibadan, and from Ibadan, we go to Osogbo. We go to Akure. We go to Ekiti. We go to Ilorin.”
Iyabo Ojo
All of this is just to get people into theaters. Compared to those days, she said, creating content and dancing on social media is a walk in the park.
“You can’t bring out a movie and just put it in cinema and just expect people to watch it,” she said, clearly calling out the passive marketing mindset.
In a media-saturated world where everyone’s attention span is shorter than a TikTok loop, Iyabo believes one has to do what it takes to stand out.
Her golden nugget of wisdom was, “If Coca-Cola is still running adverts back to back on their products, I wonder why I or anyone else can’t use any method to run an advert and create awareness.”
Iyabo Ojo also emphasized that “everybody doesn’t have to dance,” but if that’s your lane, go for it. If not, “do drama,” she said. “That’s why you’re an actor or an artist in the first place.”
“In short, stop worrying about looking unserious. Whether it’s dancing, skit-making, or putting up your own billboard in your neighborhood, do what you gotta do to get butts in seats.”
Iyabo Ojo
In the words of Iyabo, “You must constantly advertise.”
Iyabo Ojo Reacts to Claims of Being Gistlover
The popular Nollywood actress finally reacted to the accusations of being the face behind the popular faceless Instagram blog, Gistlover.
Debunking the allegation, Iyabo Ojo stated that most of the gists shared by popular Instagram bloggers, such as Gistlover, are leaked by close people.
Iyabo Ojo disclosed that most of the information or gossip shared by Gistlover is false.
“One thing I found out about Gistlover is that it’s the people close to you who take the information to Gistlover. Sometimes, the information they take is wrong, but they still take them. Some of the information is right, and some are wrong.”
Iyabo Ojo
Iyabo questioned the faceless blogger if she does thorough findings before sharing the information on their page.
The actress disclosed that most of the gist shared by the faceless blogger was shared by some of her colleagues in the industry.
She added that she was shocked when she was later accused of being behind the faceless blog.
“Some people came out to say I am gistlover. I was shocked. Iyabo Ojo is gistlover, and I posted about my life on Gistlover. I dragged my daughter on Gistlover.
“Is it for the money or the fame? The rubbish that was written about 3 some and stuff that gistlover posted and it went viral, for what reason will I want to drag my own daughter and myself? Destroy my name and reputation, why?”
Iyabo Ojo
