Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In retrospect to the company’s festive campaign following the Chinese New Year, Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas has officially kicked off the new original series called ‘366’, which will tackle stories of fortitude, resilience and togetherness among Malaysians during these difficult times.
In the first episode titled ‘Day 32’, we follow the story of Zhi Yi as she is being accompanied by her mother to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her father. During the trip, Yi gets acquainted with a male passenger, with whom she feels comfortable. Their trip was then cut short when the bus they were in got involved in a road accident. The scene then jumps into Yi now at his father’s place, about to celebrate the festivities. In this new scene, Yi meets another male stranger who helps her get home from the police station. As a sign of gratitude, Yi invites the stranger, a programmer named Adam, to spend the festivities with her and her Dad.
The series, directed by seasoned and award-winning director and producer Kabir Bhatia, is conceptualised by creative agency Ensemble Worldwide under IPG Mediabrands.
For Didi Pirinyuang, executive creative director at Ensemble Worldwide, the original series was all about creating a story centred on the themes of thriving cautiously into the new year to live with new energy and resolve. She added that their intent with this campaign is to inspire people to dream a new dream, outrace themselves and thrive together, with courage.
“As we set out to fine tune the theme for the year, we gave great thought to how the pandemic has shaped us all. The pandemic gave us time to rethink life, our priorities, and what really matters. Whether it is self-revelation or with family, friends and community, we have all been forced to confront our true strengths, fears and weaknesses. 366 is the story of Malaysians discovering, embarking, embracing, sometimes throwing away the past or what doesn’t work,” Pirinyuang said.
Meanwhile, Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz, senior general manager of group strategic communications at PETRONAS, noted that the original series is a story about giving second chances and the need to accept the past in order to move forward. She also added that the series showcases the true Malaysian culture of reaching out to each other when the going gets tough, and that they want Malaysians to take home the message – ‘know that you are not alone’.
“Regardless of our challenges, we have the strength of the roaring tiger within us. Through the bonds we forge, we will become stronger together as Malaysians, Aziz said.
She added, “This is the year where we Malaysians would need to summon our courage to get back on our feet and learn to live in the evolving new normal. Our intention is to inspire people to dream a new dream and overcome the past and perceived limitations in rising and thriving together.”
Didi also added that this new campaign marks a new journey with working with Petronas, stating that they have aimed of changing the mould of conventional festive storytelling through working closely with the Malaysian film industry to approach this campaign as a drama series, an approach that PETRONAS as a brand has never done before.
“The year ahead holds some unique features, all telling stories of Malaysia’s realities and second chances with the intention for them to see a glimmer of themselves. Because really, 366 is OUR story. It is an ode to all Malaysians. It is the story of Malaysia,” Didi concluded.
The first episode of ‘366’ is available for viewing on PETRONAS’ official YouTube channel and Facebook page.
