TM Mengukir Malaysia: Ibu

Agency

VMLY&R COMMERCE

Client

TM

Product/Service

Telco

Brief

When we google “Merdeka,” only one person shows up: our father figure, Tunku Abdul Rahman. What if we could shine the light on our mother figure? This Merdeka, we decided to shine a light on an unsung hero, who was just as instrumental in our fight for independence, Ibu Zain. We call her Ibu (mother) Kemerdekaan.

Solution

Under TM’s Mengukir Malaysia initiative, how do we merge culture and technology and spark interest for the younger generation? We narrowed it down to the art of Wayang Kulit. Wayang Kulit was one of Malaysia’s first forms of animation. In its truest, original form, it uses light projections to tell the stories of good vs. evil and mythical heroes. So, for this campaign, we leveraged on a traditional art form in Wayang Kulit to shine light and tell the story of a beloved Merdeka hero.

Our story revolved around Ibu Zain, also known as one of the true Merdeka heroes that fought for our country’s independence, yet she is hardly talked about.

Wayang Kulit was the perfect medium for us to tell her story, as it allowed us to shine a light on her story while also preserving the art form’s true meaning. Traditionally, Wayang Kulit is projected on a flat canvas, but for this campaign, we really wanted to drive home the fact that heroes could be all around you, so we decided to crea