Petron addresses the impact of divorce on a family in heartwarming film

Oil company Petron Malaysia is encouraging Malaysians to put all disagreements aside and foster happiness in a Raya festive titled “Alunan Berkasih” (“The Strains of Love”).

Done in collaboration with Ogilvy Malaysia, the film features a divorcee father who tries to get his ex-wife to attend their child, Shasha’s, upcoming birthday party. However, his ex-wife tells him that she is happy with her new husband and does not want any interference with her new life, highlighting the complexities of divorce.

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Despite the father's relentless efforts to care for his daughter, she remains overwhelmed with sadness, yearning for her absent mother during these significant occasions. When Shasha’s father ties her hair or cooks her a meal, she says that her mother does it better.

As Syasya and her father prepare Raya goodies for their neighbours in need, she realises that she should be more grateful for the family she has and asks her father for forgiveness on the first day of Hari Raya for dismissing his efforts.

“In our latest campaign for Petron Malaysia, we dared to venture into the realm of authentic storytelling by addressing a subject that is often considered taboo in advertising – the impact of divorce on a family,” said Adrian Miller, chief creative officer, Ogilvy Malaysia.

“By choosing to highlight the struggles of a single father and his daughter during this time, we wanted to acknowledge the diverse experiences of our audience and remind them that happiness can be found even in the most challenging circumstances,” he explained.

The film then culminates with a surprise visit from Shasha’s mother who joins the family to celebrate Shasha’s birthday and Raya which emphasises the importance of finding harmony in differences, especially during the celebration of Raya.

"With family being the centre of the most meaningful Raya celebrations and understanding the reality that there are families that are not together, we put the focal point on a child's struggle around the divorce of her parents, magnified by her upcoming birthday which happens to be on the first day of Raya,” said Danny Chen Heng Siong, marketing manager, Petron Malaysia.

“With this film, we hope to convey the message that happiness is found in togetherness. When things are difficult, we should put aside our differences to reconcile, seek forgiveness and find happiness to achieve harmony,” he added.

In Malaysia, with a majority of the population being Muslim, Ramadan and Raya is generally a season with much advertising buzz and peak season for sales. However, this year, the war in Gaza and the weakening of the ringgit have had a noticeable impact on Malaysian consumers.

These incidents are causing many international brands in Malaysia to be cautious of being added to the list of brands being boycotted due to associations with Israel. Unlike previous years, this has led to a rather muted Ramadan period when it comes to advertising spend, said industry professionals A+M spoke to.

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