We paid them GHS17,050 — Company behind ‘Remember Me’ NPP billboard breaks silence

Reports say that Riverblade Intuition, the company behind the cutting-edge “Remember Me” political ad for the New Patriotic Party, has finally spoken out about the amount paid to the actors and other details that were previously unknown.

The company was reacting to reports that actors’ pictures were used without their permission or under duress, and that they were only given a small amount of money (Ghs300) for their work, even though they were told they would be in a magazine and a documentary.

In fact, one of the actors, Nicholas Teye, a former Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) trainee whose picture appeared on campaign billboards for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the 2020 General Elections, said that people who are unhappy with the way the Akufo-Addo-led government is running things have threatened his life.

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In an interview with TV3, Mr. Teye, who is 35 years old, said that he can’t move around town without hiding his face because he is afraid of being attacked by angry Ghanaians who think he is part of the NPP plot that has caused their current economic problems.

He also said that he gets calls from people he doesn’t know who say they will hurt him if they meet him because he is part of the reason why things are wrong in the country.

Did Nicholas Teye lie?

Roman Boakye Gyinae, the Creative Chief and Director of Strategy at Riverblade Intuition, said that Nicholas Teye was not telling the whole truth about the story.

He said that Nicholas was one of 31 people contacted for the photoshoots and told in clear terms what the photos would be used for, which is different from what he said.

“Foremost, during the photo shoot, a mock-up of the billboard ads was shown to him over and over again to get his expression and acting. Also, the release form he signed before the shoot made it clear what the photos would be used for, a Riverblade representative said.

Mr. Boakye Gyinae said that Nicholas may be “deliberately lying, or he may have forgotten the details over time” when he said that he was not paid Ghs300.

Mr. Boakye Gyinae said that Nicholas and the other 31 people, most of whom didn’t have their pictures chosen, each got Ghs500 and Ghs50 for transportation.

All of this added up to Ghs17,050 for the actors. Out of the 31, Mr. Teye and five others were chosen as the final six for the ad, which, according to the people who made it, had more than 85 million impressions on the web and used emotional themes to sway voters’ decisions.

Thanks for making me well-known.

Again, Nicholas Teye didn’t give the impression he did in his TV3 interview. Mr. Gyinae of Riverblade Intuition said Nicholas Teye had reached out to them to thank them for giving him “fame.”

Nicholas Teye is said to have told the Advertisement team that he now has a permanent job as a teacher because of their work and that he is grateful to them.

“This gentleman called to thank us for helping him get a permanent teaching job through the campaign.” Someone from Riverblade Intuition said.

During the 2020 election, the Remember Me campaign went viral, and now that things aren’t going well under Akufo-Addo, many Ghanaians are angry at the young actors who were in the campaign to get people to vote.