Feliz Navidad, Nigeria! GLO AD LAURA MULVEY LENS Through Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze: “Who Is the Camera Really Looking At?”

 To be honest, when I first watched this ad, it made me smile. The energy, the joy, the colours everything felt warm and festive, like a familiar Christmas in my hometown. But after sitting with it for a bit and looking at it through Laura Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze, I started noticing things I didn’t see at first glance. Mulvey argued that in many films and media, women are often shown not as full subjects, but as objects meant to be looked at beautiful, pleasing, and passive. And while this Glo ad doesn’t exactly scream exploitation, there are quiet moments where that dynamic creeps in.

For example, in several scenes, the camera lingers sometimes a little too long on women dancing, swaying, and twirling in traditional attire. The fabrics and movements are lovely, no doubt, but why do we get these soft, sweeping close-ups of the women’s bodies while the men, like Timini, are presented in bold, steady, confident angles? The women become more of a visual rhythm, while the men hold presence. It feels subtle, but that’s exactly how the male gaze works sometimes hidden in what seems like celebration. It’s not that the ad is trying to exploit women, but it does rely on their bodies to create a certain mood and atmosphere, almost like visual seasoning.

There’s also something to be said about how the ad centres women’s labour emotional and physical but doesn’t quite empower them as independent figures. They’re there to dance, to smile, to carry the culture, to dress up in colours. And yes, that’s a huge part of who we are as Nigerians. But the way the camera treats them still places them in the role of being seen rather than acting or deciding. That’s Mulvey’s argument women are too often looked at rather than looking back. Even in an ad that’s meant to make us feel proud and connected, those gender dynamics quietly remain.

So while I appreciate the beauty of the ad, Mulvey’s theory makes me question: what would this look like if the gaze was truly equal? If women weren’t just part of the mood, but part of the message active voices, not just beautiful frames? It’s something worth thinking about, especially when our media constantly tells us who is meant to be admired and who is meant to admire.

So yes, Glo’s ad is well produced. It feels warm and nostalgic. It captures our collective memory of December holidays. But through Laura Mulvey’s lens, it also reminds me that even the most joyful storytelling can still carry the same old baggage. If we truly going to tell Nigerian stories, let’s make sure we are not repeating global patterns of gender imbalance in our own way. Lets make room for women to be seen and heard not just watched.