By The Malketeer
In an age where self-care is often sold in the form of RM80 gua sha stones or cold plunge subscriptions, Nando’s Malaysia has served up something refreshingly grounded: a warm bowl of comfort food and a cheeky reality check.
Its latest regional campaign, “Bowl Therapy”, crafted in collaboration with Chariot Agency, is a clever dig at the commodification of wellness.
By rebranding its PERi-Tomato Chicken Bowl as a more affordable, edible alternative to overpriced wellness rituals, Nando’s brings wit, warmth, and a hearty serving of brand relevance to the lunch table.
“We’re not your therapist. But we are here for you.”
The campaign’s tone is clear from the outset.
It doesn’t pretend to heal your chakras or untangle your emotional baggage.
Instead, it gently mocks the cultural overreach of wellness fads—think Himalayan salt lamps, crystal-charged water, and breathwork retreats—and offers something far more attainable: good food that makes you feel okay again.
“We’re not here to solve your meltdowns,” says Lim Siew Ling, Brand & Customer Director at Nando’s Malaysia.
“But if a warm, comforting bowl of tomato goodness with a bit of PERi-PERi magic helps you feel more like yourself, we’re all for it.”
From cold plunges to warm bowls
The PERi-Tomato Chicken Bowl itself is no-frills, all-flavour.
With grilled chicken, a boiled egg, tomato-based PERi sauce, and a choice of Mediterranean rice, spiced rice, or garlic bread, it’s the kind of lunch that hugs you from the inside.
All at a price “less than a jade face roller.”
The campaign, rolling out across Malaysia and Singapore, features social-first videos where people are caught in candid conversations with their food—seeking comfort, clarity, and comic relief in their bowls.
The tongue-in-cheek approach taps into the modern malaise of burnout, existential dread, and lunch indecision with humour and humanity.
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Humour as a brand tonic
“People spend good money on crystal-infused water or Himalayan salt lamps, all in the name of wellness,” says Christyna Fong, Creative Director at Chariot Agency.
“We thought a Nando’s bowl could give you the same sense of comfort, minus the pseudoscience, plus grilled chicken.”
This sharp blend of relatability and irreverence builds on Nando’s 2024 brand platform, “That’s a Nando’s Thing,” which leaned into the brand’s signature humour, cultural insight, and laid-back confidence.
“Bowl Therapy” doesn’t just sell a product—it sells a point of view, cleverly asserting that comfort doesn’t have to come wrapped in spiritual jargon or self-optimisation.
Serving therapy—one spoonful at a time
As the campaign unfolds, fans are invited to share their own “bowl therapy moments” on social media, further fuelling engagement and meme-friendly momentum.
It’s a smart move that keeps the content fresh and the conversations authentic—right where Gen Z and Millennials are already talking.
Whether you’ve been ghosted, gaslit, or just had a long Tuesday, the message is simple: Nando’s can’t fix your life, but they can serve you something delicious that makes the day a little more bearable.
And sometimes, that’s more than enough.
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