23rd December, 2015
Funsho Arogundade
Five months after he inked an endorsement deal with Air France, notable filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan has hit another big one again.
On Tuesday, Afolayan was unveiled as brand ambassador of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) at a ceremony which also marked the official launch of the company’s new Peugeot 508.
At the unveiling, the filmmaker was celebrated as the first person to officially drive and own the 2015-2016 edition of the car.
Signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the NAF Conference Center and Suites, Kado, Abuja, Ibrahim Boyi, Managing Director/CEO of PAN, said the partnership was necessary to showcase outstanding and complete alignment of the two brands, Afolayan and the new Peugeot, which are of international standard.
He disclosed that the Peugeot 508 model would be used prominently in Afolayan’s next movie, The CEO.
“I’m happy to announce that in that movie, The CEO, Peugeot 508 will be prominently featured as one of the vehicles. Already Afolayan is an Ambassador of Air France so the choice is not accidental but a well thought of decision,” Boyi said.
In his response, Afolayan, who lauded the gesture, noted that his endorsement by PAN meant a lot to the entertainment industry, as it would open a vista of opportunities and more partnerships with the corporate world.
“This means production value will always be at the top. For a French company to want to associate with a local brand in Nigeria, they must be sure the brand and quality of your brand can compete with international standards,” said Afolayan.
The filmmaker, scion of legendary thespian, Adeyemi Afolayan, fondly called Ade Love, noted that he had earlier reached out to Peugeot before the commencement of shoot of The CEO, with the aim of using the automobile to promote local contents in the nation.
“At that point, we couldn’t get someone to give us headway but eventually, they reached out to us. We had a meeting and we are here today. I can tell you that it is worth being here and it is worth the partnership,” he said, describing the brand as a well balanced, modern car with good air conditioning system.
It has been a good year for Afolayan who was also endorsed recently by Adron Homes and Properties Ltd as its brand ambassador.