Celebrations are only perfect when done together in Ogilvy Malaysia’s CNY story for CIMB

It’s that time when ingredients and raw fish soar through the air, as voices and chopsticks unite in loud wishes for prosperity and good fortune in the year ahead. This is the time of the year for Yee Sang. 

It’s a part of Chinese New Year we take for granted, and one with a multitude of origin stories. What we can be sure of, was that somewhere in pre-independence Malaya, an enterprising restaurant owner had a flash of inspiration and history was changed – and with it, came the birth of a Chinese New Year icon.

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CIMB and Ogilvy Malaysia saw this as an opportunity to create “You-Sang, We-Sang”. A period fable – shot in the rich, vivid quality of a classic motion picture film while injecting charm, wit and fun back to New Year festive ads – explaining that what’s important is not where or how the dish was invented, but that it brings us all together in celebration.

Mohamed Adam Wee Abdullah, Group Chief Marketing Officer, CIMB Group, said, “The inspiration behind this video was to celebrate diversity and the coming together of Malaysians through the tossing of Yee Sang, an iconic and proudly local Chinese New Year dish. We chose to convey the video in a fun yet meaningful manner where Malaysians from all walks of life could relate to. Besides the charming, and entertaining short film, we also took this opportunity to roll out the first mobile Yee Sang tossing game to engage and unite Malaysians through laughter and good cheer. We are delighted to see that the video has been well received by over three million viewers over 8 days. We hope that the video continues to spread joy and inculcate the togetherness in all Malaysians throughout this festive period. To all Malaysians, we wish a prosperous Gong Xi Fa Cai together.”

“Chinese New Year is not about filtered photos, double taps on the gram, or perfectly curated experiences. Today, that quest for a perfect celebration supersedes the celebration itself. This led to the thinking behind ‘You-Sang, We-Sang’. Ironically, we went all out to be perfect during production. With Maurice and his talented team on board, every detail of the late 40s was researched and reimagined, resulting in a charming piece of content that focuses on what the festive spirit is truly about,” said Jarrod Reginald, Creative Director at Ogilvy Malaysia.

Nizwani Shahar, Managing Partner at Ogilvy Malaysia, agreed and added that the team was grateful to have strong, brand-builder clients such as CIMB who believe in the power of ideas and story-telling.

“With every campaign we conceptualise for our clients, we aim to go beyond the brand and tell great stories. Chinese New Year is about traditions, but there’s also a fun factor – the fun we have while celebrating and rejoicing in our togetherness as families, as friends, as Malaysians. This campaign brings out the enjoyment in togetherness to make an impact on the community beyond CIMB customers.”

The “You-Sang, We-Sang” campaign features a mobile game that encourages togetherness with a Yee Sang tossing game, where users can invite friends to play along and stand a chance at winning e-Vouchers. Apart from the games, different Yee Sang art pieces are displayed throughout this festive period on CIMB social media pages.

Credits –

Post Production: VHQ

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