Imagine that it's a hot Friday night in Accra. Odarley, a 22-year-old marketing student at the University of Professional Studies, sits in a comfortable air-conditioned lecture hall, eyes wide, watching a campaign video.

An ad for a big oil marketing company in Ghana has just won Gold at the Gong Gong Awards. This isn't just fun for Odarley, whose family sells food at the Osu Night Market. It's proof that being creative can help businesses grow, create jobs, and even improve whole communities.

The Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) and its main event, the Gong Gong Awards, are very important in our country right now, especially in times like these.

Established in 1989 and formally registered as a professional body in 2002, the AAG is the official mouthpiece and advocate of Ghana’s advertising and marketing communications industry.

It is a non-profit organisation supported by member agencies, but its reach extends far beyond boardrooms.

The AAG is a thought leader that sets ethical standards by requiring honesty, responsibility, and respect in every campaign through a strict code of conduct. It lobbies the government on policy issues, such as how to control outdoor billboards and address excessive advertising, and it runs continuous professional development (CPD) workshops to keep creative people sharp in a digital-first world.

 In Ghana’s economy, where the services sector now drives growth and employs over 40 percent of the workforce, advertising is the invisible engine. Telecom companies rely on it to push mobile money services that power daily transactions for millions.

Banks use it to sell trust in a cash-heavy market. Fast-moving consumer goods brands compete fiercely on supermarket shelves, while the creative industry holds huge potential to add billions to GDP through jobs in design, content, media, and strategy.

Outdoor advertising in Ghana alone generates around $60 million in revenue each year. Without strong local advertising, many of these industries would struggle to reach everyday Ghanaians, market women, Trotro drivers, and young entrepreneurs who keep our economy alive.

Ghana aired its first television commercial in 1967, and the AAG has walked alongside the industry since its inception in 1989. As consumer tastes shifted from radio jingles to TikTok reels and AI-driven storytelling, the Association stepped up.

It offers training programmes, partners with media houses, and advocates for policies that protect local agencies while welcoming global best practices.

In doing so, it helps brands stay relevant and keeps thousands of creative jobs in Ghana rather than sending them offshore.

But perhaps nothing captures the soul of the AAG quite like the Gong Gong Awards, now reborn as the Gong Gong Festival of Creativity & Awards. Named after the traditional Ghanaian “Gong-Gong” beater, the town crier who walks through villages striking a double metal bell to announce births, deaths, royal decrees, or market days, the awards literally “ring the bell” on excellence.

Since its inception, it has celebrated campaigns that don’t just look pretty but drive sales, build brands, and contribute meaningfully to society.

The goal is simple but strong: to show that great advertising works. Gold, Silver, and Platinum winners are chosen not only for their creativity but also for how they affect business in measurable ways.

The 17th edition, held in 2025 after a two-year break, saw agencies such as Publicis and EchoHouse win awards for campaigns that combined strategy, culture, and emotion.

The festival now runs for a full week and includes workshops, panels, and networking. This makes it a real celebration instead of just one night of fun.

For students who want to work in marketing or branding, the effect is life-changing. The AAG does more than just give out awards. It sends promising Ghanaian students to the prestigious Roger Hatchuel Student Academy, which is part of the global Cannes Lions festival.

This gives young people direct access to world-class mentors and ideas. CPD modules, industry attachments, and working on real briefs help students connect what they learn in the classroom with what they do in the real world.

Many graduates trace their first big break to an AAG workshop or a Gong Gong-winning campaign that inspired their portfolio.

In a country where young people still struggle to find jobs, the AAG is quietly building a pipeline of skilled, passionate professionals ready to compete in their own region and around the world.

There are still problems, of course. Even the best agencies are tested by fierce competition from international networks and the need to protect intellectual property.

Yet the AAG’s response, more collaboration, stronger training, and an ambitious push to take Ghanaian creativity to international stages, shows resilience.

In the end, the Gong Gong Awards are more than trophies. They are cultural echoes, reminders that in Ghana, where storytelling has always been our superpower, advertising can still be a force for good.

It builds brands that employ families, campaigns that educate on health or financial inclusion, and careers that turn young dreamers into industry leaders.

As Ghana’s economy continues its transformation, the AAG and its Gong Gong Awards stand as steady partners. They don’t just reward what works today. They inspire what will shape tomorrow.

For brands and marketing students especially, that ringing bell isn’t just an award. It’s a call to step forward, create boldly, and help write the next chapter of Ghana’s story.

By: Dr Linda Narh (Senior Lecturer & Coordinator, UPSA)