What If Brands Went Silent This Merdeka?

Advertising in Malaysia doesn’t flow evenly across the year. It beats in rhythm with the nation’s cultural heartbeat. Hari Raya. Chinese New Year. Deepavali. Christmas. And, of course, Merdeka.

These are the moments when adex explodes. Agencies sweat, media owners cash in, and brands deliver their most memorable work. Tens of millions are invested in a matter of weeks to remind us of who we are and what we stand for.

But what if the cycle broke?

Imagine Merdeka stripped bare of brand storytelling.

No Petronas short films tugging at our hearts.

No TNB commercials making us laugh in unison.

Just flags. And a parade.

Would the Merdeka spirit survive—or would it shrink into sterile ceremony?

Are brands the custodians of patriotism?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: advertisers have done more to keep the Merdeka spirit alive than government institutions.

When Yasmin Ahmad’s Tan Hong Ming in Love aired in 2007 for Petronas, it wasn’t just an ad—it was a national memory. Digi’s anthem campaigns reframed connectivity as togetherness. TNB turned festive ads into WhatsApp-forwarded family traditions.

Ask Malaysians what they recall most vividly about past Merdeka celebrations. Chances are, it wasn’t a minister’s speech. It was a commercial.

In effect, advertising has become the Ministry of National Sentiment.

Hard Numbers Behind the Sentiment

In 2023, Malaysian adex reached RM 8.3 billion, with festive and national milestone periods disproportionately high.

Festive advertising alone accounted for about RM 250 million annually – Merdeka consistently a major spike.

Projections for 2025 diverge – some analysts remain optimistic about a rebound (+5%), while others foresee continued softness (–2.8%). The truth likely lies between.

And yet, even in downturns, festive budgets remain sticky. Why?

Because brands know something policymakers often forget; in hard times, advertising isn’t just commerce – it’s community therapy.

Advertising as Therapy in Hard Times

Think back to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, or the Covid-19 lockdowns. In both cases, Malaysians clung to ads that reminded them of unity.

TNB’s funny festive spots softened economic anxiety. Petronas ads during lockdown reassured families that love survived distance.

Advertising became therapy. It stocked hope when shelves were bare of optimism.

The feel-good impact of national sentiment matters more in difficult times. When wallets tighten, advertising fills the emotional deficit.

Will the Merdeka Spirit Die If Brands Go Silent?

That’s the uncomfortable question.

Without ads, Merdeka risks becoming a hollow holiday. A half-day parade, some flag waving, a moment of patriotism, then back to life as usual.

But with ads, Merdeka becomes alive. It’s not just a holiday—it’s a shared conversation across households, offices, and mamaks.

If brands go silent, the stitching may unravel.

Iconic Merdeka Ads That Shaped Identity

Some of the most enduring Merdeka memories weren’t parades—they were campaigns:

2007 – Petronas: Tan Hong Ming in Love
Yasmin Ahmad’s masterpiece captured innocent interracial love, teaching Malaysians that unity is natural, not political.

2013 – Digi: Negaraku
A remix of the anthem across languages and rhythms, making patriotism inclusive.

2015 – TNB: Together We Celebrate
Proof that Merdeka advertising could be cheeky and joyful without losing meaning.

2018 – Malaysia Airlines: Journeys
Nostalgic reminders of “home” for Malaysians abroad.

2020 – TNB: #KamiJagaKita
A pandemic-era Merdeka ad showing independence as mutual care.

2023 – Maybank: Kita Sama, Kita Merdeka
Hawkers, nurses, riders—the real face of independence.

These weren’t commercials. They were chapters of Malaysia’s living history.

Advertising as the Creative Economy’s Powerhouse

Globally, governments are scrambling to nurture the creator economy—influencers, digital creators, freelancers. Malaysia too has launched roadmaps, grants, and policies around TikTokers, YouTubers, and streamers.

But here’s the irony: advertising has been the original creator economy all along. So, it’s time for advertising to claim its place, not just as a business sector, but as critical cultural infrastructure.

Advertising employs tens of thousands: copywriters, designers, animators, filmmakers, strategists, data scientists.

Advertising funds the very media ecosystem creators rely on.

Advertising produces cultural products (films, slogans, installations) that live in the public imagination.

If policymakers are serious about the creative economy, they must ask: why is advertising, the biggest and most established player, missing from the national conversation?

Malaysia (via MDEC, CENDANA, and government policy) defines the creative economy mainly through its Digital Creative Industry (animation, gaming, multimedia, digital content) and cultural arts sector.

Policymakers often highlight creators, influencers, and digital platforms when discussing the “creator economy,” but this tends to understate the bigger role of advertising and media, which actually fund and employ much of the ecosystem.

Global Mirror: How Advertising Powers Creative Economies

Other nations put advertising at the centre of creative strategy. Malaysia doesn’t.

United Kingdom – Advertising as GDP Engine

Contributes £29 billion annually.

Employs 300,000+ people.

Backed by a Creative Industries Council where advertising leaders shape policy.

London is one of the world’s most respected advertising hubs.

United States – Advertising Funds Culture

Supports 7 million jobs and nearly US$1 trillion in GDP.

The Super Bowl ad economy alone is worth US$7 billion annually.

Ads here are not just commercials—they’re cultural events.

South Korea – Advertising Amplified Hallyu

K-pop’s global rise was fuelled by advertisers—Samsung, Hyundai, Coca-Cola.

Government (KOCCA) worked hand-in-hand with brands.

By 2021, cultural exports reached US$12.4 billion.

Advertising became a force multiplier for soft power.

Brazil – Creativity as Soft Power

São Paulo agencies dominate Cannes Lions.

Advertising recognised as a national cultural export.

Singapore – Advertising as Strategy

Included in Design 2025 Masterplan.

Supported by EDB and DesignSingapore Council.

Framed as a strategic export industry.

In the UK, advertising is GDP infrastructure.

In the US, it funds culture.

In Korea, it exports identity.

In Brazil, it projects soft power.

In Singapore, it’s national strategy.

In Malaysia? Advertising is still dismissed as “marketing spend.”

Should the Government Reward Storytellers?

If brands are carrying the nation’s emotional weight, shouldn’t government incentivise them?

Corporate tax rebates already exist for CSR. Why not extend this to “nation-building advertising”?

Imagine:

Tax deductions for campaigns that promote unity.

A matching fund for patriotic or cultural campaigns.

Instead of punishing brands for flag mistakes, celebrating their best ideas.

This isn’t subsidy, it’s recognition.

From Policing Symbols to Celebrating Ideas

Too often, Merdeka ad debates spiral into outrage; upside-down flags, misplaced lyrics, tone-deaf imagery.

Respect matters. But nitpicking symbols misses the forest for the trees. The true value lies in ideas that uplift.

Malaysia needs a  National Merdeka Creative Awards, co-hosted by government and industry, where campaigns that elevate patriotism are celebrated—and rewarded.

Nation-Building: Brands vs Government

Government campaigns are stiff, formal, forgettable.

Meanwhile, brands spend hundreds of millions crafting emotional, shareable narratives. They compete not just to sell, but to outdo each other in patriotism.

So who really fuels Merdeka?

The Ministry of Communications, or agencies and brands?

If the answer is brands, why are they left out of creative economy policymaking?

Advertising as Emotional Infrastructure

Infrastructure is usually measured in roads, rails, bridges. But in today’s fractured world, emotional infrastructure matters just as much.

Ads remind us of what binds us.

Ads create collective identity.

Ads provide joy, humour, and hope in hard times.

Merdeka without ads would be like a city without streetlights. The structure may exist, but the glow is gone.

Final Thoughts: Closing the Blind Spot

Malaysia’s creative economy is alive and digital content is booming, local IP is gaining traction, creators are rising. Policymakers have embraced the “creator economy.”

But here’s the blind spot: advertising.

This is the industry that funds media, employs the largest pool of creative professionals, and produces the narratives that shape national identity, yet it’s absent from policy discussions.

Advertising is not just commerce. It is emotional and cultural infrastructure. It carries the Merdeka spirit, often doing the government’s job of nation-building better than official campaigns.

To leave advertising out of creative economy strategies is not oversight. It’s a strategic error.

Three Policy Moves That Could Change Everything

Tax Incentives for Nation-Building Campaigns

Rebates for brands that promote unity, inclusivity and cultural values.

A National Creative Advertising Fund

Government-backed fund that matches ad spend for campaigns with social or cultural impact.

Integrate Advertising into DICE

Malaysia’s Digital Creative Ecosystem Roadmap (DICE) focuses on gaming, animation, content creators. Advertising must be explicitly included.

If the government is serious about the creative economy, it must answer one simple question:

Why is the biggest player in the creator economy—the advertising industry—not top of mind in national policy?

Because without advertising, Malaysia doesn’t just lose adex.

It loses the very narratives that stitch the nation together.