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 turned every Heineken can into auspicious greetings through an AR filter that uses the brand name’s “Hei” to form greetings. Influencers and everyday Malaysians alike quickly caught on to this new way of greeting. These greetings with Heineken’s cropped logo also appeared offline, as we turned Heineken’s own fleet of delivery trucks into technically unbranded, totally legal billboards-in-disguise, driving even more online conversations.

The campaign reached 33.9 million people, earned US$6.8 million in media value, and gained 14% more sales volume vs CNY’23. Ultimately, the campaign cheekily underscored that the celebrations were simply more complete with Heineken. Oh, we also successfully put cans of Heineken into the hands of Gen Zs. Quite literally.