By Adedapo Adesanya
Abah Boniface, representing the University of Ibadan, has emerged winner of the 2024 edition of the Future Brand Idol (FBI), a prestigious advertising contest.
He bested 20 other candidates to win the top prize on Monday in the competition that has run over the last three weeks.
He becomes the new winner of the rebranded FBI which was restarted following a two-year hiatus after a new partnership between Forbes Black Member community member, Mr Emmanuel Dairo and the founder of the contest, Mr Abdullahi Ahmed Atewe.
While Abah Boniface took the top prize, Olowu Evidence, also a student of the University of Ibadan, emerged as the first runner-up, while Promise Odejide of Kwara State University came third.
Boniface wins a scholarship worth N400,000 to O2 Academy Lagos plus a cash prize of N200,000 while Evidence gets an internship in a leading advertising agency in Nigeria plus a cash prize of N150,000, while Promise walks away with an internship opportunity in a leading advertising agency in Nigeria plus a cash prize of N50,000.
Boniface’s emergence sees him continue a trend set by the University of Ibadan which at the last event in 2021 saw Oluwadara Adesanya (UI) emerge as the winner while Favour Olushola (University of Lagos) and Shola Adido (University of Ilorin) emerged as first and second runners-up, respectively.
The participation at this edition was extended with 21 contestants competing from over 10 tertiary institutions and schools, out of which only five contestants made it to the final stage.
For the first week, the contenders were taken on a rigorous bootcamp to train them on idea formation, brief development, and execution among others.
For the second week, there were tasks assigned to each of them and five candidates made it to the final, in the concluding week.
Expressing his excitement on his emergence as the winner, Boniface appreciated all efforts made and applauded the organisers for the training and experience.
The lead judge and Creative Director at Noah’s Ark Communications, Mr Maurice Ugwonoh, praised the contestants for displaying talents that can propel Nigerian advertising into the new age.
Adding his input, Mr Atewe, the founder of the competition said “We are so happy with the evolution of Future Brand Idol, we have seen that talent abound in the country and we are doing our bit to refine and give them the avenue to establish themselves.”
On his part, his new partner for the competition, Dairo said, “This is just a taste of what we are capable of achieving. At the next edition, we will be looking to open this to more talents and even go beyond what we plan on because we are true to our words to connect talent with opportunities.”