Naga DDB Tribal uncovers a deeper understanding of our national colours through an unexpected perspective in Astro’s merdeka film

For Astro’s Gemilang Bersama Campaign, Naga DDB Tribal partnered with Directors Think Tank to create an experiential film. This film hopes to bring a new light and explore deeper meanings derived from our national colours from an unexpected perspective.

Gemilang Bersama is Astro’s theme for the national month that hopes to act as a rallying cry for Malaysians to come together and bring our nation to new heights.

The campaign; anchored on the colours of our beloved Jalur Gemilang, aims to evoke the sentiments behind the values that have held Malaysians together ever since the birth of our nation, being those of bravery, purity, unity, and loyalty.

Naga DDB Tribal was tasked to bring this campaign to life. 

In striving to stay true to its mantra of being experience makers, the team searched for experiential ways of expressing the meaning behind the colours of our national flag.

Countless possibilities and ‘what ifs’ were considered and contemplated until a singular thought sparked. 

What is the experience and meaning behind colours to someone who had lost their sight? What if we learn if colours can actually be experienced via the sensations of taste, touch, sounds, and smell?

“The team came up with the idea of experiencing colours through the lens of someone who is visually impaired. Someone who doesn’t take colours for granted. This called for a trip to the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB),” said Nik Radzi, Executive Director of Naga DDB Tribal.

“As someone who is in the profession of dealing with colours every day, the trip to MAB showed me how a visually impaired person would express, experience, or recall colours. It was an experience like no other,” recalled Thomas Chiew, Art Director.

“With the script successfully pitched, it was crucial to partner with the right production house. Maurice Noone, Zaim Rosli, and his team from the Directors Think Tank best captured our vision for the film. They took the script and together we pushed it even further and bigger than we could have collectively imagined,” said Wesley Jon, Senior Copywriter.

Post conversations with students suggested by the MAB, the team found themselves intrigued by the interactions with the story and charm of one Nurin Amalin binti Ishak. 

Nurin; a 19-year-old visually-impaired para-athlete who unfortunately lost 80% of her sight at the age of 10 due to a fever that triggered Stevens-Johnsons syndrome, a rare but serious skin reaction that’s usually caused by taking certain medicines. 

“Upon meeting her you would find that she is nothing but charming, positive, and accommodating. What made her perfect for the film was that she understood the concept of colour. She knows what red, blue, yellow, and white look like. More importantly, she has memories of colour growing up. They had meaning to her,” recalled Zaim.

“Through Nurin, we see the true meaning of these colours and the values they each represent. These are the shared values that have banded Malaysians together since our nation’s birth; and those of which will continue to be our north star,” said Henry Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer, Astro.

In addition to the film and in realising the reliance that visually impaired students have on audiobooks as a complement to braille, the team from Naga DDB Tribal also put forth the proposal to record audiobooks (with the focus on local books) for the MAB under the Astro Kasih initiative.

In full support of this initiative, renowned Astro talent and personalities; Munaa Bella (Era FM DJ), Luqman Hafidz (Air Force the Movie actor), and Darren Ch’ng (Astro AEC newscaster) also were on hand to lend their voices to record the audiobooks.

Kristian Lee, CEO of Naga DDB Tribal added “Stories at its core are experiences. As experience makers at Naga DDB Tribal, we pride ourselves in pushing boundaries to uncover new experiences and previously untold stories that deserve to be shared.”

Watch the film here:

Credits: 

Client: Astro Malaysia Holdings
Group Chief Executive Officer: Henry Tan
Director of Brand Communications & Sustainability: Tammy Toh 

Agency: Naga DDB Tribal
Executive Creative Director: Nik Radzi
Copywriters: Shiraz Faruqi, Alexi Khaw, Wesley Jon, Amirul Aswad
Art Directors: Thomas Chiew, Jacky Chin, Daniel Yassin
Business Director: Gavin Teoh
Account Director: Shukri Saleh
Executive Producer: Sharon Da Silva
Producer: Venus Chen & Rosa Check

Production: Directors Think Tank
Executive Producer: Pat Singh
Directors: Maurice Noone & Zaim Rosli
Producer: Gray Loi
Production Co-ordinator : Khaedsark Siri Songkram
DOP : Simon Chin / Din Ismethz
Art Director: Kok Wei
Post Production: Tank3 Asia Executive
Producer: Sivagamy Jeeva
Post Producer: Fakhrul Syakirin
Editor: Pan
Colourist: Ben Conkey
Assistant Colourist: Katelynn Tan
Senior Flame Artist : Saravanan Suppiah
Audio Mix: Rodney Thomas
Music Composition: Teoh Eng Hooi