Nando's MY trendjacks The Tinder Swindler: Would you give up RM250k?

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Nando's Malaysia is riding on the online chatter surrounding the new Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler, by mimicking how the scammer in the documentary reached out for funds. In the documentary, Simon Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Hayut would constantly text his victims, convincing them to take loans and pass him the cash. Inspired by this, Nando's posted a still from the documentary of Hayut in his private jet, along with an enlarged text message.

In the text message, Hayut reasoned that he needed RM250k "to buy 10,460 quarter chicken sets for my team". Nando's further piqued its followers' curiosities with the hashtag #iykyk (if you know, you know). The documentary, which was released on 2 February, details the stories of victims who were scammed by Hayut. It also showed how the victims banded together and brought him to justice.

https://www.facebook.com/NandosMY/photos/a.385979771325/10158125898451326

Marketing director Chai Hui Fung told A+M that Nando’s is a brand that likes to inject fun into its communications while speaking out on issues that matter to the people. "We’re always looking to do so in a light-hearted yet meaningful manner. We believe that this is an issue that should be made known and spread the reminder to be careful of people you meet online," she added.

At the time of writing, the post garnered 271 reactions, 17 comments and 18 shares of Facebook, as well as 747 likes and 47 comments on Instagram. Several users lauded the brand for its witty marketing tactics, with one user saying that Nando's Malaysia has "the best marketing team in the world". One user commented on how Nando's was quick to tap on current trends. "Only Nando's Malaysia can teach me about all the current events happening around the world," the user joked.

This is not Nando's Malaysia's first rodeo in trendjacking. Last year, the brand trendjacked a comment made by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad about Malaysian Chinese eating with chopsticks. According to multiple media reports including Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mahathir said during the launch of his new memoir that Malaysian Chinese "have not adopted the Malaysian way of eating food". Instead, they "retained the chopstick, which is an identity from China, not Malaysia, and many other things," he added, according to CNA. Following that, Nando's released a social media post with the caption: "How you makan (eat) doesn't matter, as long as we makan together". The brand also said that everyone is welcome.

Last February, Nando's Malaysia poked fun at sugar daddy dating site Sugarbook, which came under the spotlight after a ban by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The restaurant chain said in a Facebook post: "You don't need sugar to find hot chicks. Have dinner with the hottest ones tonight." This came after MCMC banned access to Sugarbook and criticised the platform for a "marketing gimmick", which alleged that more Malaysian women, especially university students, are signing up as sugarbabies on its site. It also warned users of the increase in love scams.

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