Posted on by Raihan Hadi
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Home is where the heart is
21 May
Chinese New Year (CNY) in Malaysia is always the time when a massive homebound exodus begins. This year Digi posed an important question through its CNY TVC – what truly is the real meaning of home and where does one go home to? Is it a house, a place, a memory or simply a feeling?
Digi emphasizes that while they are different perceptions of home, it is more than just a roof with four walls or a physical location. Instead, according to the telco, home is wherever your loved ones are.
Titled “Jia’’ which means “home” in Mandarin, Digi’s TVC revolves around a young woman who struggles to reconcile and accept the ways of her eccentric and penurious family, as she has worked to finally attain her dream house.
The TVC starts off with a young woman enthusiastically setting up her house for Chinese New Year, awaiting her family’s arrival. She narrates the scene, explaining that her current achievements are very valuable to her because she’s worked hard for them.
The optimistic narrative comes to a stop when she receives a call from her mom saying they are going to be late, to which the young girl instantly frowns, asking if the reason for the delay is the “scrap metal” – referring to her father’s old van.
Using a series of flashbacks to when the young girl was little, viewers see the family living a limited lifestyle due to financial restrictions. The little girl blames their suffering on the old van and her father’s reluctance to trade it in (to get their family a proper house) and is shown kicking the van in frustration, every Chinese New Year.
The TVC then cuts back to present time as the young girl drives a distance to meet her family, stranded on the side of the road, prepared to give her father a piece of her mind. I would tell you how it ends but I wouldn’t be doing it justice; so you should watch it yourself.
The agency behind the TVC is one of Malaysia’s largest marketing communications and brand strategy agencies, Naga DDB Tribal.
According to Alvin Teoh, Executive Creative Director of Naga DDB Tribal, the team treated the project like a short film instead of a festive ad and wanted to add the melancholic touch of an indie Cantonese movie. To achieve this, they did not shy away from going all out. Even a catchy Sam-Hui-inspired original soundtrack was made for the TVC.
“The emotions that run throughout this tale will bring to light an ancient wisdom; a home is more than brick and mortar, it is flesh and blood,” Alvin explained. “It is imperfect, a little broken, can be unpredictable, but when there is love, home happens against all the odds.”
The concept behind the TVC was beautifully brought to life by a good cast and a down-to-earth storyline that Malaysians were drawn to. The message Digi drove through the story was a reminder to Malaysians that rather than placing importance on where and how you celebrate the festive season, it is who you celebrate it with that matters the most.
It doesn’t matter where the celebration takes place, what dishes are being served or even the number of red packets we receive – home is where the family is, the most important people in our lives,” said Bernard Lee, Head of Marketing Services at Digi.
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