Lasun Alagbe
Companies seem to have turned winner of the Big Brother Naira, Mercy, into an object for endorsement competition.
She must have, for instance, announced up to four deals in the past few weeks.
She celebrated one about two days ago and she is out with another one, this time with a booking company.
Based on the rate at which she is going, she may topple the likes of Funke Akindele and Dakore Egbuson, who enjoy sweet deals, including with telecom giants such as Globacom and MTN.
But some observers may note that she may eventually not be able to defeat them because they earned stardom over the years and with more tangible works – including films.
While the future will tell how far she will go, the fact that she emerged ‘suddenly’ via a competition indicates that she still needs to acquire more leverage and experience.
For one, those who emerge through competitions stand the risk of being edged off faster since such contests produce new winners regularly.
As a result, the Efe who won the BBNaija before Mercy is no more very much in the limelight while some earlier winners have actually evaporated from the scene.
But this is not to ‘jealous’ the lucky Mercy as she deserves all the applause and recognition she is getting.
The reality show is one that stresses participants to the limits, even if not intellectually.
While in the house, you have to be at your wits end; you have to love strangers; you have to hate or be prepared to be hated.
Indeed, sexing and being sexed is part of the war a good number of them have to fight, doing things hat they might ordinarily not want to do.
Of course for brands, the affection that surrounds the winner is worth putting millions on.
Everywhere top participants in the show go now, many eyes and hearts follow them.
The case of the winner – Mercy, this time – is even more frantic, going by the way her profile has ballooned since she lifted the N60m BBNija Pepper Den trophy.
