"Me Do Wu," My Val: The Creation of Valentine's Day in Accra, Ghana

African Studies Review, Dec 2004 by Fair, Jo Ellen

The main attractions of Valentine's Day are the mystery and suspense surrounding it. When an admirer's identity is revealed, love and passion fill the air. So don't be a drop-out on Feb. 14. Get your Valentine's cards and presents out, so as to make the day a really special one for your loved ones. Concorde Cards wishes all a lovely Valentine's Day.

Because Valentine's Day apparently was not well known in Accra at this time, or at least not celebrated to the merchants' full satisfaction, the ad attempted to stir curiosity about the holiday and to cause a little anxiety among those who might be unsure of whether to partake. The following year, no Ghanaian newspaper mentioned Valentine's Day. In 1992, the Mirror (Feb. 6) reprinted the same feature from 1990 on the history of the holiday, and another card shop, Attitudes, placed an ad describing the meaning of the holiday and extolling gift-giving: "Valentine's Day is here again with us. Friends and foes alike must cherish this day. Send a card, a rose, and a bottle of wine to someone special to show affection, peace, love, and forgiveness for past sorrows and pains."

For the next three years (1993-95), Valentine's Day remained a rather sleepy holiday. The Mirror trotted out (and edited slightly) the same history it had published in Februarys past. A card shop placed an ad. But the media environment was about to change, and when it did, the celebration of Valentine's Day took off.

Responding to increasing pressure from external funders (the World Bank, IMF, and private financiers), the government of President Jerry Rawlings acceded in 1995 to demands for deregulation and privatization of national broadcast media. Radio was the first broadcast medium to be deregulated, with the Voice of Legon (now named Radio Univers) opening as the first private, nongovernmental radio station in late February 1995. A few months later in April, Joy FM began broadcasting as Ghana's first commercial station. Several stations followed, and by 1997 there were a dozen or so commercial stations operating in the Accra area.

With so many new stations, the radio industry was confronted with problems of content and audience: what to broadcast, how to attract loyal listeners, and how to deliver an economically viable audience to potential advertisers. Promotions seemed to be the answer. "We got hold of U.S. broadcasting promotion books, and we ran with them," said Komla Dumor, Joy FM's morning personality. "Every station in town did the same thing" (interview, Feb. 7, 2002). Dumor said Joy initiated Accra's Valentine's Day promotions in 1996 because the station "wanted to build a solid base of listenership" (interview, Feb. 7, 2002). Joy, which at the time had the third largest audience share in Accra after Peace FM and Radio Gold (Ansabah 2002), aims its programming and promotions at an upwardly mobile demographic: well-educated, English-speaking listeners in the twenty-five- to fifty-year range-in short, people with salaries. As in most African countries, radio is the most pervasive medium, but research on consumer patterns reveals that Ghanaians with higher "living standard measures" and in the age group most courted by advertisers tend to be especially avid radio listeners ( Ghana All Media Product Survey 2000).7 Joy's Valentine's promotions, which in 2002 included all-expense-paid vacations to South Africa for two couples, weekend stays at Ghanaian resorts, free dinners at luxury hotels in Accra, and assorted smaller prizes, are extravagant because the station "can deliver the right profile of audience to our advertisers" (Komla Dumor, interview, Feb. 7, 2002).