Heidden In Plain Sight

Agency

Star Reacher Advertising Sdn Bhd

Client

Heineken Malaysia Berhad

Product/Service

Heineken Beer

Brief

Chinese New Year is the peak season for alcohol sales in Malaysia. Heineken, perceived as a foreign premium-priced beer, faced tough competition from brands like Anchor and Tiger Beer, which have already localised and associated themselves with this occasion over the past several decades.

To make matters worse: advertising alcohol is illegal in this dark market, where displaying alcohol brand logos and products on above-the-line media and even on delivery trucks could lead to fines and imprisonment. This meant Heineken couldn’t participate in Malaysia’s massive RM1.4 billion/year out-of-home advertising scene. While alcohol brands simply advertised online under strict conditions, we needed a way to stand out and be relevant to the occasion. Legally, of course.

Solution

Exchanging auspicious greetings is a key Chinese New Year tradition, many featuring the word “Hei,” meaning happiness in Cantonese. So, we tapped into this custom to design a campaign only Heineken could own. We cropped our iconic logo, using its first three letters to complete various Chinese New Year greetings, and featured them across 11 of our delivery trucks as they travelled 36,465 kilometres on existing delivery routes across Malaysia as highly visible billboards-in-disguise over 49 days. While instantly recognisable, the cropped logos made the trucks technically unbranded and therefore totally legal.

Soon, what started outdoors went online and across the news. Influencers and everyday Malaysians even began using “Hei” on Heineken cans to create their own festive greetings on social media.

The campaign reached 33.9 million people, earned US$6.8 million in media value, was 163% more effective than average out-of-home media, and gained 14% more sales volume vs CNY’23.