Those who grew up in the 1980’s and early 90s will remember the iconic smiling face on the Blue Band margarine container. The boy’s image was that of a well fed young man, punctuated with a smile that convinced many parents that indeed Blue Band was good for the health of their children.
The promotion was so successful that Blue Band became synonymous with margarine. When other brands joined the market, they would simply be referred to by buyers as BB, shorthand for Blue Band.
It was in 1984 during the Blue Band Margarine Campaign in Kenya, that the unknown, smiling 11-year-old Chris Kamau (now 50 years) became a household image in East Africa by appearing on the Blue Band tin while holding a slice of bread with the popular spread.
To date, some childhood friends and relatives still call Chris Kamau ‘BB’. Away from the Blue Band tin, Chris Kamau led his normal life and went through school, growing and dreaming like any other Kenyan child.
The oldest in a family of three, Kamau grew up in Nairobi and lived briefly in Europe and then came back home before moving to the USA in 1997, where he pursued further studies in arts, entertainment and media. He is an alumnus of Berkley College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and a graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York, USA. He also served as chairman of Kenya Actors Guild.
So how did he get himself to the Blue Band boy those days? “You either believe in angels, miracles, pure luck, or all three,” he said in a past interview. “The way I ended up being the ‘Blue Band boy’ is the stuff of legend. It involved a curious set of circumstances, including being at the right place at the right time.”
He explains: “My mother had an appointment with my auntie, a frustrated creative director, and an equally bewildered team at a major multi-global advertising, marketing and public relations concern.” The rest, as they say, is history.
And how did it feel to see himself on the Blue Band tin? “It felt amazing! And very exhilarating and to this day, there are still quite a few people who refer to me as “BB”. I have always taken it in the intended spirit of jest that it is given.”
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Decades later, Chris Kamau remains a familiar face to many people – on screens, watching him sing and dance as part of the group Five Alive to watching him play some interesting characters in movies and series. Kamau, by the way, has a way of playing the bad guy in his acting, quite the opposite of the sweet little Blue Band boy he started off as.
His special skills include character voices and continental accents. He is a founder member of Five Alive, East and Central Africa’s premier Gospel/R&B Acapella singing group and has been in numerous productions both local and international including, On the Bench, Mind Tricks, Taharuki, Ogas at the Top, Sumu la Penzi, reading Maisha Magic’s Jane & Abel.
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