Warner Bros. Malaysia drives horror into everyday life for The Conjuring

In the lead-up to the release of The Conjuring: Last Rites, Warner Bros Malaysia brought horror to the streets of Klang Valley in a unique, social-led campaign designed to turn everyday journeys into spine-chilling experiences.

The campaign featured iconic franchise characters Valak and Annabelle behind the wheel of specially themed Grab rides, surprising passengers with unexpected terror on their regular routes. “We love bringing terrifyingly fun experiences to scare up a major buzz for the movie,” said a Warner Bros. Malaysia spokesperson.

“With the final installment of The Conjuring franchise, we wanted to take these infamous characters out of cinemas and into everyday life. Grab rides are part of our daily routines, so it made sense to create an unexpected, shareable thrill that ties back to the movie’s theme: horror lurking in the most familiar places.”

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_{Photos courtesy of Debbie Goh, senior client partner, GrabAds (Linkedin)}

The collaboration with Grab came together through joint ideation between Warner Bros. Malaysia and media agency Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Malaysia, with Warner Bros. bringing Grab onboard. The themed rides, which roam the streets of Klang Valley until 26 September, have offered passengers a chance to experience the thrill firsthand.

To amplify the campaign’s reach, Warner Bros. Malaysia partnered with content creators and influencers with authentic connections to entertainment and lifestyle. This included Ceddy Ang (@ceddyornot), Zhaf (@zhafvlog), Alex HKF (@alex_hkf) and Kee (@cloutykee) among others. 

Their brief was simple yet clever: attend the midnight premiere of The Conjuring: Last Rites at GSC The Starling Mall and ride the themed Grab vehicles. "What they didn’t know was that we had a terrifying twist planted: a surprise passenger, to capture genuine, unscripted reactions for maximum virality impact," the spokesperson said.

The horror doesn’t end there. For the bravest fans, Warner Bros. Malaysia has set up exclusive "GSC SCARE FEST" screenings, with midnight shows where scares extend beyond the screen. Attendees at the 29 August premiere were given a taste of the thrills, setting the tone for the movie’s release on 4 September.

The campaign has also leveraged Spotify, sparking conversations across TikTok and driving social engagement under the playful #paksapremium hashtag as netizens shared their reactions to the scary content.

_{Screenshots courtesy of Warner Bros. Malaysia}

This is not the first time Warner Bros. has brought horror into everyday moments. The studio's marketing team had previously stirred paranoia with its Final Destination: Bloodlines campaign, crafted by its own in-house marketing team, who are passionate about "bringing fresh trauma" to its potential audiences. 

Out-of-home (OOH) ads placed in Central i-City shopping centre in Selangor have caught the attention of passerbys despite blending seamlessly into the mall’s environment. Instead of traditional posters, the ads were designed to look like regular warning signs, triggering unease among those familiar with the franchise’s theme of death lurking around every corner.

In another great example of horror-themed (sort of) out-of-home-displays, Netflix Malaysia drummed up excitement for Wednesday Season 2 with a campaign that puts the spotlight squarely on a fan-favourite character — Thing. Last month, it launched a larger-than-life, mobile version of Thing, dubbed the "Thingmobile", scuttling its way around the Klang Valley.

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