Reclaiming the African brand

You have probably heard about Bono's Vanity Fair issue on Africa. The Irish rocker caused quite a stir when he chose to use 21 celebrities and 20 different magazine covers. His hope was that this issue would make Africa important and sexy to the magazine's audiences in the west.

Good goal, bad strategy

Bono was onto something though. For several decades the image of Africa's poor has been one of desperation and hopelessness. It is an image that has worked well for many charities which raked in the contributions from the guilt-ridden. But lately the image of a needy Africa does not evoke a sense of urgency.