ChaTraMue hijacks scam season to make corn the talk of Raya

ChaTraMue Malaysia has taken an unexpected route for its latest limited-time offering (LTO), turning a festive pain point into a witty hook with its “Jangan kena con, minum corn” ("Don't get conned, drink corn") campaign.

Launched in conjunction with its new Corn Series, the social-first effort leans into the spike in scam cases typically seen during the Raya period, using a phonetic play between “con” and “corn” to grab attention.

According to Tirzah Yeo, head of marketing at Woodpeckers Group (the parent company for ChaTraMue Malaysia), the insight was grounded in real consumer behaviour. “Raya season is unfortunately a peak period for scams, and we wanted to tap into something that felt real and relevant to our audience,” she told A+M. “We were launching our Corn Series during this festive period and the challenge was: how do we make corn exciting? It’s not as inherently trendy as, say, matcha.”

She added that the pun came naturally from there, tying the product to a culturally relevant concern. “It gave the campaign a witty, culturally grounded hook that made people stop and pay attention.”

Don't miss: FWD Malaysia joins the Raya campaign season, with a new CMO at the helm

To bring the idea to life, ChaTraMue worked with social-first agency Kaki Sosial, taking a relatively open brief focused on driving awareness and trial during one of Malaysia’s biggest festive periods.

“We didn’t over-prescribe the creative direction; we trusted them to take the brief and run with it,” Yeo explained. “The impact we were looking for was simple: cut through the festive noise, get people talking and ultimately get them walking in to try the Corn Series.”

The result was the “Edisi Sesat” ("The wayward edition")content series, which adopts a news report-style format to spotlight scam-related scenarios, reimagined through a humorous lens. The name is a play on "Edisi Siasat" ("The investigative edition") a popular social media account in Malaysia known for featuring information on alleged misconduct by authorities. 

Yeo said the format was a deliberate move away from the usual Raya storytelling tropes. “The typical Raya campaign formula of homecoming, family, nostalgia has been done so many times that audiences have become desensitised to it. We wanted to do something the F&B space hadn’t really explored, which is launching a product by tapping into a genuine social issue.”

She added that the news-style execution helped drive urgency and memorability. “News content naturally commands attention and triggers a heightened sense of alertness. It also lends itself to shorter, snappier cuts, which is perfect for social consumption.”

For Kaki Sosial, the campaign reflects a broader shift towards social-first thinking. Founder VJ Anand said, “Everything is social first. Social is the TV these days and we are making content for it.”

He added that the campaign was also about shaping ChaTraMue’s brand personality in Malaysia. “We are trying to give the brand an interesting personality that’s a mix between Thai and Malaysian humour but also based on true insights. In this case during Ramadan we realised scams triple in numbers, and when we were told the LTO was corn, the leap was easy. Corn and con.”

Kaki Sosial has also been tasked with a brand campaign featuring ChaTraMue's classic products, as the brand looks to build a distinct, locally resonant voice through culturally grounded storytelling.

Beyond social, the campaign was supported by a wider ecosystem of touchpoints designed to drive trial. This included in-store activations, point-of-sale visibility, and collaborations with content creators to amplify reach organically.

“We also supported the campaign with targeted digital touchpoints to ensure the messaging reached the right audience at the right time,” said Yeo. “The goal was to ensure that whether a customer encountered us online or walked into one of our stores, the Corn Series was impossible to miss.”

Over Raya week, Malaysia saw a host of festive brand campaign releases. Lactalis Trading Malaysia reinforced the enduring role of QBB Pure Ghee in Malaysian kitchens, with a new campaign titled “QBB – Pilihan dipercayai sepanjang generasi” (‘The trusted choice for generations’). Built around QBB’s heritage as a household staple since 1925, the campaign spotlights the role of trusted ingredients in preserving flavours, traditions and family bonds, particularly during Ramadan and Raya.

Meanwhile, Sunquick rolled out its latest Ramadan and Hari Raya campaign, centred on the deeply rooted cultural idea of “air tangan mak”, a phrase that reflects the warmth, care and sincerity associated with a mother’s touch in cooking. The campaign builds on Sunquick’s long-standing presence in Malaysian households, where its fruit-based beverages have become a familiar feature at gatherings, from everyday meals to festive celebrations. 

Be part of #Content360 Malaysia, 13 May 2026, where creativity and community collide. Explore how AI-powered imagination, culturally resonant storytelling, and platform-savvy strategies are shaping the future of content. Gain practical insights, discover new tactics, and learn how the region’s top creators and brands are crafting campaigns that truly resonate.

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