Able Cubes

Agency

Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur

Client

Maxis

Product/Service

Maxis

Brief

Being a community whose livelihood depended on being able to connect with audiences physically, Malaysia’s community of buskers were hit hard by the pandemic. In fact, they saw a 70% drop in income after moving online. While the easing of lockdown measures may seem like welcome news to most, one group of musicians are still suffering: buskers who are persons with disabilities (OKU). The lack of accessibility in most of these high-traffic areas, something most Malaysians take for granted, means being cut off from what for many of them is the only source of income.

This Raya (Eid), Malaysia’s largest festival that’s also a season of giving and a celebration of triumph over adversity, Maxis wanted to not only celebrate this community’s resilience, but also prove that when technology is made accessible, nobody has to be left behind.

Solution

Working with Malaysian disability rights organisation OKU Sentral, we launched Able Cubes, virtual busking cubes that allowed OKU buskers to “busk from home” in even the most inaccessible high-traffic areas. Powered by Maxis’ network, Able Cubes empowered them to connect with audiences in physical spaces, who could easily contribute to the buskers through their e-wallets via QR code.

To amplify the reach, we launched a film that tells a story of a band with 4 friends: a wheelchair-bound lead guitarist, an amputee lead singer, a deaf-mute drummer and a visually impaired bassist. We worked with real disabled musicians as our talents, while consulting with persons with disabilities to highlight real obstacles they face with the city’s poor accessibility. We even featured the stories of real OKU buskers through a series of content via social media and media partners.

The campaign became one of the most talked about Raya campaigns, earning close to RM405k in earned media, a wh