Mirinda’s first-of-its-kind Raya film sparkles in a sea of festive sameness

It’s that time of the year again when the dulcet tones of Sudirman croon ‘Selamat Hari Raya’ over the airwaves, and brands and advertising agencies vie for the most poignant and heartstring-tugging film. It’s refreshing (pun intended) that ETIKA’s Raya film for Mirinda embraced the importance of family and traditions with nary a teary eye.

In a bold move, Mirinda, the flavoured drink loved locally for its sparkling fizz and taste, collaborated with Astro Shaw, Malaysia’s leading film studio behind the blockbuster franchise, Polis Evo and their upcoming film, ‘The Experts’, to produce a Raya commercial unlike anything ever done before in Malaysia.

According to Amy Gan, Vice President of Marketing at ETIKA Sdn Bhd, “Instead of doing the typical Hari Raya commercial that you see every year, we decided to create our Raya film by focusing on content marketing instead. By collaborating with Astro Shaw on their up-coming movie, ‘The Experts’ we were able to produce a film that would not only give viewers the kind of content we knew they would appreciate, but it would also allow us to create content that would remain relevant long after the festive season was over.”

“I read that Content Marketing is like a first date. If you only talk about yourself there wouldn’t be a second one. Clearly, the first rule then would be to create the kind of content that your followers actually want to see, versus what you want to say. It’s so important to be relevant,” says Amy Gan, Vice President of Marketing, ETIKA Sdn Bhd.

Watching ‘The Experts Selamatkan Raya Bersama Mirinda’ film you’ll be struck by its big budget antics, glossy cinematography and big ticket names like Dato Aaron Aziz, Remy Ishak, Mimi Lana, Shafiq Kyle, and Ray DapDap. Using exclusive movie footage from Astro Shaw’s ‘The Experts’, the Mirinda film tells the story of five siblings who reunite to tackle their toughest job yet: To save Hari Raya.

“I read that Content Marketing is like a first date. If you only talk about yourself there wouldn’t be a second one. Clearly, the first rule then would be to create the kind of content that your followers actually want to see, versus what you want to say. It’s so important to be relevant.

Amy Gan, Vice President of Marketing,ETIKA Sdn Bhd.

“Marking a significant milestone, this collaboration represents the first time a local film became an integral part of an Eid commercial,” says Raja Jastina Raja Arshad, Executive Producer of “The Experts” and Vice President, Head of Astro Shaw & Malay Nusantara Business.

“We’ve developed a winning formula to overcome the challenge of securing advertisers for movie sponsorship. More than often, we start production of movies and content, and the advertisers hesitate to commit without seeing the finished product. Many find it hard to imagine what the final movie would look like given that there is no visual representation apart from a script and movie sponsorship differs a lot from how a typical TVC is done. When the movie is ready, we face another hurdle: limited opportunities for optimal brand integration post-production as most advertisers only value in-frame presence.

“Instead of doing a typical Hari Raya commercial, we decided to create our Raya film by focusing on content marketing instead. By collaborating with Astro Shaw on their up-coming movie, “The Experts”, we were able to produce a film that would not only give viewers the kind of content we knew they would appreciate, but would also allow us to create content that would remain relevant long after the festive season was over.”

This partnership with Mirinda breaks all boundaries as there is really no scene in the movie with a Mirinda consumption shot. In fact, there is no Mirinda at all in the movie. But the outcome of the partnership has been extremely great and for this I would commend the marketing team of Etika for once again being able to see things differently and help us create such a milestone.”

‘The Experts Selamatkan Raya Bersama Mirinda’ film collaboration proved to be a win- win partnership for both ETIKA and Astro Shaw. “We managed to produce a compelling film for Mirinda’s Raya campaign by leveraging the star-studded, blockbuster movie, while Astro Shaw benefitted from our media and in-store presence that helped promote their movie,” Amy adds.

ETIKA also managed to leverage Astro Shaw’s celebrity talents for their on-ground activities and road tours which were held throughout the Klang Valley. The events that were held at Mydin USJ, Giant Stadium in Shah Alam, Aeon Big Subang Jaya and Econsave Klang Utama helped the brand reach a core demographic.

“This partnership with Mirinda ushers in a new era of entertainment marketing, benefiting all parties involved. We’re thrilled to play a role in this action-packed and entertaining advertisement.”

Raja Jastina Raja Arshad, Executive Producer of “The Experts” and Vice President, Head of Astro Shaw & Malay Nusantara Business

With the advancement of the digital age, content marketing has become an essential part of any marketing strategy, and ETIKA’s ‘The Experts Selamatkan Raya Bersama Mirinda’ film was all about connecting to customers in an authentic and meaningful manner.

The compelling content that was produced for the Mirinda brand managed to capture the hearts of viewers, create a visible impact and talk value during the Raya festive period, and would undoubtedly remain timelessly relevant.

A worthwhile investment, by all accounts.