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Ramadan-Raya regional roundup 2022: How brands are bringing on the festive cheer

Ramadan-Raya regional roundup 2022: How brands are bringing on the festive cheer

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With COVID-19 restrictions lifting in various Southeast Asian countries, many brands took to celebrating their newfound freedom to kickstart one of the biggest festive seasons of the year: Ramadan and Hari Raya. Common themes in this year’s Ramadan and Hari Raya marketing activities around the region include balik kampung, charity, and inspiring the wider community through service and action. Balik kampung seems to be an especially popular approach for brands, with travel resuming in many areas, allowing friends and families to reunite after two years of muted cheer.  

With the Internet being flooded with a sea of festive ads during this period, it is important to remain human in the messaging. Raja Narula, head of ads marketing, Singapore and Malaysia at Google told A+M previously that subtle touches such as showing the brand or product in action in the first five seconds of the video help with ad recall, yet do not come across as trying too hard to sell a product.

Meanwhile, online ad platform Muslim Ad Network said half of the 14 businesses and organisations surveyed said they will increase spending on ads in Ramadan 2022 compared to Ramadan 2021. While another 50% will try out new ad platforms. With brands going all out for Ramadan and Raya, the team at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE decided to showcase how brands are celebrating the festive season with a regional roundup. 

Here's the list in alphabetical order.

(Read also: How are brands planning to flex their creative muscles this Ramadan?)

Alzara Foods Malaysia 

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Alzara Foods, home to its famous Alzara Ghee, channelled the balik kampung spirit through a fun heist narrative for its Hari Raya ad, in wider aims of celebrating togetherness and teamwork. Dubbed "Misi Raya Impossibru" (a play on Mission Impossible), the video takes place in a kampung, Ghee Jobos, where people are busy planning for a big Raya Aidilfitri feast for the entire village.

The main character, Mak Tam, finds upon cooking that she is missing the most important ingredient for the kenduri (feast) - ghee. This leads to a heist to acquire the necessary ghee, where four additional characters are introduced to take part in the heist, called Geng Kampung Ghee Jobos

Astro

Astro partnered Naga DDB Tribal to shake up the Raya advertising game by launching a Hari Raya movie instead. Titled “Tujuh Hari Di Bawah Matahari”, the 21-minute short film was directed by film director Razaisyam Rashid and will be making its premiere nationwide, exclusively on Astro GO on the eve of Hari Raya at 8.30pm and then on the third day of Raya at 8pm on Astro RIA, PRIMA, WARNA, CITRA, CERIA. The film will be released on 6 May on YouTube as well.

The brand utilised for a "rich storytelling opportunity" to tell a heart-warming coming-of-age tale of a young man who embarks on a road trip with aims of returning home. For this particular balik kampung, the man cycles 500km with a cat, while fasting during Ramadan, learning along the way that “the most important things in life are not things." 

Boost Life Malaysia

This year, Boost joined hands with the production teams behind the beloved animated series, Ejen Ali, to create an animated film for this year’s Raya campaign. The campaign consists of a festive film, titled "KebangkiTEN Raya 10 Budak Merah dan Ejen Ali”, as part of the insurance brand’s larger Hari Raya campaign, “KebangkiTEN Raya”, which will run until 31 May. With Boost having partnered Media Prima and Media Prima OMNiA for the campaign, the video made its way to different satellite TV networks across the country, in addition to being aired on Boost's various social media.

Celcom Axiata

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Celcom Axiata and M&C Saatchi Malaysia put an emotional twist on its Raya campaign for 2022, telling the story of Danish, an 11-year-old boy whose main motivations for Hari Raya include collecting enough duit raya (Raya money) to buy a drone. However, a heart-wrenching turn of events leads Danish to appreciate his family and Aidilftri more closely, which the film highlights as being the more valuable gain during the Raya season. The campaign has since its posting recorded close to a million views on YouTube. 

Darlie Malaysia

Darlie Malaysia collaborated with musicians Reza Salleh and MuZza as well as FCB SHOUT to bring Malaysians a festive film and music video, as part of its Semangat Hari Raya campaign. The film chronicles Salleh and MuZza as they create original lyrics for the song, wherein the duo are shown interviewing and speaking to local Malaysians to inform their song writing process. 

While initially planned as a one-off initiative, this campaign is the first of a year-long project that Darlie will be undertaking this year, with broader aims of reconnecting Malaysians within the community, which the brand elected after being inspired by the resilience Malaysians showed during the pandemic, and the extraordinary lengths they went to take care of one another.

Digi Telecommunications 

With the aim of rekindling familial connections and Raya traditions, Digi Malaysia’s campaign video “Alunan Hati” tells the story of a son reuniting with his elderly mother for Hari Raya after some time apart. 

Focusing on the busy lifestyle of one man as he chases his dreams, the video shows the man getting caught in the rat race of life, as well as how easy it is for one to take for granted the tradition that is ingrained within them as they go about their life. However, through a mother's determination and willingness to keep the tradition alive, the video sees the family reuniting, ultimately conveying how important it is for people to return back to their roots. The campaign was done together with Naga DDB Tribal.

Disney+ HOTSTAR

This festive season, the streaming giant celebrates Ramadan as perceived through the eyes (and rhymes) of young Malaysian rapper Bunga, as he breaks conventions in the music industry.

GoPayz

GoPayz worked with Reprise Malaysia to launch a series of films for its Raya campaign, in wider aims of driving awareness and sign-ups for GoPayz as well. The new series is a follow up to a previous Raya campaign. 

The "Ada GoPayz, Raya Tak Gopoh" campaign (With GoPayz, there’s no rush for Raya) sees the return of last year’s protagonist Mat Lengah, this time accompanied by a sidekick, Bobby the Chicken. In each episode, Mat Lengah is berated by his wife for lacking the pre-Raya hustling spirit, as she urges him to get on with all the tasks at hand. Bobby promptly jumps in to remind her that it’s all completed with ease through GoPayz.

Guardian Malaysia 

Guardian Malaysia pulled out all the stops this Raya by rolling out its first-ever music video campaign, which brought in local celebrities Noorkumalasari, Wani Kayrie, and Sofea Shaheera to star in lead rolls. 

Singer-actress Kayrie also puts a modern spin on Noorkumalasari’s song "Pulang Di Hari Raya" in the video, which tells the story of four young sisters returning back home to surprise their mother for Hari Raya. In the video, they also meet and help other Malaysians along the way, and are met with some unexpected trials before the reunion with their mother. The video has attracted 420K views on Guardian’s YouTube channel to date.

Julie’s Biscuits 

After a successful Raya campaign in 2021, Julie’s Biscuits and GOVT Singapore looked to shake things up even further by taking on the age-old issue of stereotypical roles in its new Hari Raya film titled "Ini Iklan Raya Baru, Tau?".

On why this particular topic, the brand said it was motivated to amplify and address stereotypes against age, gender and ethnicity. "We find that our content is good food-for-thought, and particularly welcomed during the month of reflection and forgiveness," Julie's said.The campaign has been met with great success, garnering over 870K views on YouTube. 

Maxis 

Maxis’s Raya campaign, “Riang Raya Maxis”, comprised a festive film, "Last Kopek", that tells the story of a group of musicians with disabilities, who rely on each other to make the most of their situation amidst the challenges they face.

The brand collaborated with Persatuan OKU Sentral to work with people with disabilities (PWD), who are musicians as well. The musicians' performances were then featured on virtual “cubes”, digital screens that would enable the musicians to go from performing at one place to dozens at once. The cubes were open for the public to access, with the musicians’ songs played around Maxis outlets nationwide. Last Kopek” has recorded 1.6 million YouTube views to date.

Maybank

Maybank and The Clan opted to tell the story of a bond between a mother-in-law and her new daughter-in-law for its Raya campaign this year. "This Hari Raya, most of us will finally be able to balik kampung to celebrate with loved ones. We also wanted to bring to life the reality for some newlyweds who would be meeting their in-laws for their first Hari Raya celebration together. This can be a pleasant yet nervous experience at the same time," Kalyani Nair, head of virtual banking and payments, Maybank, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

The company also wanted to show how MAE can help strengthen familial ties, bringing the family closer together this Hari Raya. 

McDonald's Indonesia 

McDonald's Indonesia looked to make the holiday season a more festive one, by spotlighting Indonesia's elderly population for its Ramadan-Raya campaign through a duo of festive films, "Family Day Out" and "Golden Stage". The brand, with its power to catalyse feel-good moments for its community, took on this approach for its campaign to combat the loneliness many elderly Indonesians feel during the festive season, exacerbated by the pandemic. The campaign was done in collaboration with Leo Burnett Indonesia.

McDonald's Singapore

McDonald's SG celebrated Ramadan this year with a film campaign, told in the form of wayang kulit, a traditional form of shadow puppet play.

Titled "Ramadan: My Happy Tale", the campaign features a short film about an interracial couple, Budi and Peony, who bonded through their shared interest in food. McDonald’s Singapore said that this Ramadan it looked to celebrate the spirit of the festive season with an inspiring story of love and inclusivity.

The film recounts the couple’s past dates at McDonald's, and shows how the couple received mixed reactions for dating someone of another race. The film also shared how Peony, who was not a Muslim, felt lonely when following Ramadan’s rituals alone in her home and how Budi would buy her breakfast from McDonald's during Ramadan.

MEASAT

Satellite provider MEASAT aimed to show that distance will never be an issue in connecting with loved ones through its Raya campaign, showing the close relationship between main character Ida and her grandmother, who remain connected in spite of being physically apart. The campaign is now live on national TV, radio, and on digital platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. 

MEASAT and Trapper Media Group chose this theme for the festive season, so as to inform Malaysians that closeness with one’s loved ones does not end after the celebrations when most people leave their hometown to return to their new homes. 

PermataBank

Told through the interactions of a father and son, the film teaches the values of giving, sharing, and caring, and how goodness comes back to people who have given. At the beginning of the film, which was done in collaboration with M&C Saatchi Indonesia, the son asks for a pair of rollerskates and the father agrees to his request on the condition that he fasts during Ramadan. The father offers his son a daily reward for fasting which the son diligently saves up over the course of Ramadan so he can buy his pair of roller skates. Along the way, the son realises the importance of sharing and caring.

Redoxon Malaysia 

In another star-studded campaign, Bayer Malaysia’s Redoxon and Reprise Digital brought in singer and celebrity Lisa Surihani for their Ramadan ad. With many Malaysians fasting and working hard during Ramadan, Redoxon aimed to highlight the importance of keeping one’s immune system strong and healthy during the fasting month with its products. 

Titled "Kuatkan imuniti, rezeki Ramadan dinikmati" (A strengthened immunity allows the blessings of Ramadan to be enjoyed), the film shows Surihani round up her fellow Malaysians as she sings about the necessity of taking supplements such as Redoxon during the physically demanding Ramadan month. 

The brand also chose to spread the message of health and immunity through Seloka, a Malay genre of music, that is commonly used in a witty way for telling folklore and traditional stories.

Subway Malaysia 

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Subway Malaysia brightened up the Ramadan month by serving up its adorable new mascot, Sab-weh. The mascot featured on limited edition Raya packets by the brand, and was done in collaboration with local artist Ernest Ng.

Additionally, the brand also launched a series of festive videos for its overarching Ramadan campaign, Satu Kaki Lebih Mesra campaign, created by VMLY&R. The videos were done in production with Mutant Malaysia, and feature people from different walks of life, in an attempt to highlight the importance of sharing and kindness in the community.

Subway also introduced a festive menu for families to enjoy, bringing back seasonal offerings such as the Italian B.M.T, roasted chicken steak and cheese, chicken teriyaki, and chicken slice.

Sun Life Malaysia

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The campaign, compromising a festive song and music video, was inspired and informed by comments and input from the local community, which Sun Life Malaysia gathered from a contest it held in March. The contest asked Malaysians what they missed most about the Raya season after two years of not celebrating it as per usual, turning it into a fun surprise for all those who participated, and a hopeful message for the upcoming celebrations. 

The video also enlists Malaysian singer-actress, Nabila Razali, who sings the groovy pop-inspired song in the video. 

Taylor’s University 

Taylor’s University's new Hari Raya film "Sadaqah" centred around the topic of helping the underprivileged through education that is conformed to the paradigm of charity.

The eight and half minute long campaign video is set in the holy month of Ramadan and tells the story of Amin, a young beggar looking for a free meal for breaking fast. It additionally tells the story of his encounter with a ferocious restaurant owner, Kak Zaiton and a fellow staff member, Aini, both of whom inspire Amin to take on a new outlook on life and the wider meaning of charity. On YouTube, the video has over 300K views and has attracted a slew of positive comments for the campaign. 

TIME dotCom

TIME dotCom released its first-ever Raya film campaign, as part of its wider Kabel Besar Raya Konfem Basar campaign. TIME opted for a musically-driven campaign video this Raya, which chronicles a conversation around family members who live apart, albeit through TIME's animated and speaking satellite routers, as they anticipate reuniting this Raya. Rather than have people interact face to face, TIME had the conversations take place through the routers instead, adding a fun twist to the video.

The main plot of the campaign addresses the work from home life, and the sometimes slow internet connection that workers face when doing so. Fishermen Integrated was involved in the campaign.

UMW Toyota Motor

UMW Toyota Motor's Ramadan/Raya campaign follows the theme of "Bersama Lebih Bermakna", which was conceptualised into a seven minute long film titled "Kota Raya". 

Inspired by the importance of family, especially with the travel restrictions Malaysians had to endure these past two years, the film highlights the struggles of millennials in the city, and Malaysians' deeply rooted sense of family and togetherness - which had made the inability to celebrate together that much harder. Thus, many are looking forward to spending valuable, quality time together with family. 

Watsons Malaysia 

For Raya this year, Watsons Malaysia unveiled its Gaya Raya Luar Biasa campaign, which features a star-studded film campaign, following the success of last year’s Raya remix video. In addition to the film, the brand also launched a 3D activation – a billboard fronting the Connexion Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, of one of the campaign’s key characters, Unik the Cat. 

This year’s celebrations saw the brand opt for a futuristic theme for its campaign, as a reflection of Watsons' own forward-looking imagination - of how its values and traditions might be held and carried to the future.

Giana Siddiqui contributed to this story.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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