SHOCK OVER 'KENYA'S NAKED MAN' !

Shock over 'Kenya's naked man'
By Kevin Mwachiro BBC News, Nairobi.

Mr Opati's family were taken by surprise when the billboards went up.
David Opati, who has the body and rounded stomach that would make many an African man proud, has earned himself the nickname "Kenya's naked man".
The 29-year-old wows Kenyan motorists and pedestrians, who cannot avoid his image.
He poses from billboards across the country, hands akimbo and with a broad smile asks people to open a bank account.
But - in what is considered a daring move in Kenya - he is dressed in nothing but floral boxer shorts, socks and shoes.
"It was not easy at first," Mr Opati says about his unorthodox, high-profile modelling job for Barclays Bank.
"I had to picture myself naked on the streets of Nairobi, everybody looking at me - my family and friends. But I had to do it so I gave it my best," he says.
He admits he was paid well enough for the job, but insists he did not just do it for money.
As expected, his siblings were shocked and amazed when billboards went up along streets in the capital, Nairobi.
"Some took it positively but others have asked why I had to pose almost naked," he says.
Humour
Barclays has defended its decision to use the half-naked male model.
If you are using sexuality as a device to sell a product, you must let it reveal a fundamental truth that connects people to themselves
Kiss FM's Patrick Quarcco
"There was a perception that to open an account with our bank, one has to have numerous documents but this is not the case," says Kariuki Ngari, the bank's retail director.
"So we opted to use some humour to pass on the message."
Initially, the bank considered using a female model but the idea was dropped, as it was deemed too scandalous.
Mr Ngari says since the campaign's launch more accounts have been opened and some clients have praised the bank's new advertising approach.
This is the second time in seven years that an advertising campaign has shocked Kenya.
Before the launch of Nairobi radio station Kiss FM, billboards across the capital promised that their half-dressed male and female models would strip on the day the radio station hit the airwaves.
The implied message was: Our station will be bold and frank on all issues, even those considered taboo by Kenyans.
But the billboards did not last the course and had to be changed following public protests - many describing the campaign as provocative and a bad influence on the youth.
Full monty?
Judging by the fact that Barclays' billboards are still up after three weeks, Kenyans may be shedding their conservative culture.

For a good cause I will do it again
David OpatiPatrick Quarcco, who runs Kiss FM, says that although he was forced to tone down his campaign, he still sees no issue in using sexuality or nudity in advertising.
The challenge, he says, is connecting sexuality with conservatism.
"If you are using sexuality as a device to sell a product, you must let it reveal a fundamental truth that connects people to themselves," he says.
In a society where nudity and sexuality are not discussed openly, advertisers in Kenya do seem more willing to push boundaries - even if it is ever so slightly.
"Kenya's naked man" believes that "things have changed" in the intervening years.
"We must be bold in a good way," he adds, "and for a good cause I will do it again."
Perhaps the day is approaching when Kenyans will be ready for the full monty.

BBC NEWS REPORT.