By Onuwa Lucky Joseph
Every society is greater than the sum of its parts. That seems the reasoning behind Peak Milk’s decision to pivot a substantial part of its marketing activities around the Nigerian disabled or ‘differently abled’, as some call them, Olympians; specifically the Para Powerlifting Team. Those ladies and gentlemen have brought the nation honours time and again, their haul far more than anything their able bodied counterparts can boast of.
But they have not become national stars, at least not in the way one would expect considering their monumental achievements. You won’t hear their names chanted in popular music, they don’t make cameo appearances on TV series; they are not invited to Big Brother Nigeria as guests; and they are hardly the go to team for corporate organisations and products looking for brand ambassadors. But they are as regular as everyone else and rue the missed opportunities occasioned by their disability and the perception of negative rub-off on brands they endorse.
It’s heartwarming that Peak Milk from FrieslandCampina WAMCO has squarely bucked the trend and is having a lot of fun doing so. They have hitched their horse, so to speak, to the worthy cause of Nigeria’s Power lifting paralympians whose story seems to be the ultimate paradox: folks considered weak by society going ahead to show the grit and strength not usually associated with their kind, and becoming in the process, heroes for many who hitherto had given up hope in view of what they considered their insurmountable circumstances.
Which is why the inspirational tag of the campaign ‘#Be Unstoppable’ is so apt. There are no circumstances capable of holding back a man or woman who is determined to go ahead and make progress with their life. None. Not when they have the support of others. And that is the critical thing. Life demands support. No one goes it alone. No one can. There is always that one critical hand lent at some point that helps even the strongest stay on their feet.
Chris Wulff-Caesar, Marketing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO echoes this when he said, “Peak’s #BeUnstoppable campaign is aimed at inspiring Nigerians to get up and achieve what they have set out to do regardless of what difficulties exist; and we are doing so by sharing stories of these remarkable athletes who have continued to break new grounds in spite of their physical challenges”.
Peak is counting on the paralympians doing Nigeria proud at the World para Powerlifting World Cup holding in Abuja from 5th to 7th February, 2020. At the 2019 edition which held in Lagos, they had a massive haul of42 medals (20 Gold, 15 Silver and 7 Bronze). Peak is betting on them to do even better this time around.
