Hong Leong Bank & Naga DDB Tribal inspire M’sians

Chinese New Year marks a festive season of merriment, homecoming, and reunion among family and close relatives at the dawn of Spring – adults and elders come together in a grand celebration of food and drink, while youngsters play games and enjoy delectable delights at their own table.

But for one girl, it inspires a year long journey to earn her rightful place in the adults’ circle. Will she succeed in her endeavour?
Hong Leong Bank, in partnership with Naga DDB Tribal, presents an entertaining yet heartwarming story of perseverance, patience, and determination in “The Grown Ups’ Table,” its flagship short film for the CNY 2020 Campaign “Tomorrow’s Success Begins Today.”

Told from a little girl’s point of view, the slice-of-life-meets-caper story introduces Ah Girl, the eldest in her batch of fellow youngsters in a typical Chinese family. Tired of the yearly routine of watching over rowdy toddler seatmates and eating mundane fried dishes, Ah Girl sets her eyes on an esteemed prize: a place in the grown ups’ reunion table, complete with sumptuous grand dishes for everyone’s enjoyment.

Determined to secure her seat, Ah Girl spends the year observing the adults in her family – the head-to-toe fabulous Beautiful Cousin Jie Jie, the ever-nosy Auntie Ah Yi, and the proud Uncle Shu Shu – diligently noting down all their quirks and habits so that she, too, can be worthy of a seat at the Table. And finally, come Chinese New Year 2020, she confidently meets the whole family in a humorous display of growth and perseverance.

“Being very aware of CNY tropes, we challenged ourselves to find a way to turn a sweet little girl into that iconic Nosy Aunty we see every year,” said Michelle Goh, Naga DDB copywriter.

“In the end, the lesson we learned from the experience reflected into our video, that pursuing little ideas can take a lot of hard work, but when it pays off – it rewards you greatly,” Goh explained.

“Tomorrow’s Success Begins Today” is a thematic continuation of Hong Leong Bank’s ongoing “Seeding Dreams” communication platform, where HLB aims to drive Malaysians to take action to make their own future today, and to help enable their success through a wide range of products and promos.

To support “The Grown Ups’ Table,” Naga and HLB have also crafted three 20s clips highlighting Ah Girl’s giving tips to Jie Jie, Ah Yi, and Uncle Shu Shu, to get the most out of their credit card purchases, SME business efforts, and car loans, respectively – along with three 15s vignettes expanding on Ah Girl’s frustration at being in the kids’ table and engaging
Instagram users to give tips on how she can join the grown-ups’ table.

“We worked closely with Hong Leong Bank to push the boundaries of telling Ah Girl’s perseverance story beyond just the traditional campaign film approach,” said Wong Jiin Jiek, Naga DDB Art Director.

“Using short tactical vignettes and Instagram Stories, we were able to inject a new flavour of showcasing product promotions and features while adding more depth to Ah Girl and her “favorite” relatives across new viewing platforms,” Wong continued.

Watch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gJFqx06Xow