'Turn me on,' says Astro in new spot as it entices fans to spice up viewing experience

share on

twitter /
facebook /
linkedin /
- email
- telegram
- whatsapp
- wechat
- pinterest
- line
- snapchat
- reddit

Astro and Ensemble Worldwide have taken a cheeky approach for the company's latest "Turn me on" campaign, aimed to demonstrate Astro's viewing experience from on demand, on channels and on the go.

Launched with a playful music video featuring the theme song "Turn me on", which was inspired by the '90s hit "I want it that way" by the Backstreet Boys, the campaign looks to light the spark between Astro and its customers. Through romantic expressions within the lyrics, the song entices Malaysians to spice up their viewing experience for an immersive and seamless journey by exploring three ways to "Turn me on" or begin a new relationship with Astro.

The 360 campaign runs until 30 November across TV, radio, DOOH, digital and on-ground activation to further engage with Malaysians. Besides the music video, the three ways to "Turn me on" choreography will be used in collaborating with influencers to launch a dance challenge on Instagram Stories. A "Turn me on" radio contest will further reward listeners who call in after the Turn me on song cue to correctly answer a simple question.

Most netizens on YouTube, however, did not react well to the ad. While some liked the song, they also pointed out that the double entendres in the ad are "not suitable for family viewing". Many have also called for Astro to pull the ad, labelling it "cheap" and "dirty". Despite the backlash, there were also some who appreciated Astro's sense of humour and called the ad "lighthearted" and "catchy". A+M has reached out to Astro for comment.

Christinne Lim, director, marketing at Astro, said in line with an evolving customer viewing trend, Astro wants to enable its customers to have a richer, convenient and more flexible viewing experience. That said, Lim added that the perception of Astro being largely associated with channels browsing remains.

"This campaign seeks to cut through the clutter and create clarity amongst customers with three main ways to enjoy our service – Channels browsing for viewers to catch their favourite scheduled content; Video On Demand, allowing viewers to stream over 50,000 of their favourite shows anytime; and Astro GO, a stream-anywhere service, accessible across four devices simultaneously," she added.

GM of Ensemble Worldwide, Phang Mei Jeng, said creating this campaign was so much fun as the video gave the team an opportunity to get playful with rewriting the lyrics, the choreography and the shoot.

"The double meanings and innuendo have turned some heads and got people talking on social media platforms, but we hope this helps bring awareness to the brand in a fresh new light. This campaign is a reminder of the love Astro has for its customers, and we hope it helps to resonate on a more real level with the younger generation," Phang added.

Separately, Astro witnessed a 11% quarter-on-quater (QoQ) dip in adex during the second quarter of its financial year ended 31 January 2021 to RM80 million. Radex, TV adex and digital adex share stood at 81%, 38%, and 2% respectively. The dip was due to advertisers holding back spending and a pause in the production of Astro's live reality signature content during the Movement Control Order. Nonethtless, Astro said that its adex started to improve from June with the resumption of signature shows, live productions and on-ground events.

On a whole, it saw a 4% QoQ increase in revenue to RM1.09 billion Q2 2021. Its EBITDA increased by 13% QoQ to RM372 million, while its PATAMI jumped 81% QoQ to RM134 million. Go Shop saw a quarterly revenue of RM145 million, marking a 52% increase from the previous quarter.

Enjoy what you're reading? Follow us on Instagram for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising industry!

share on