Tag: advertisement

London, United Kingdom – Global fintech Unlimit announced today that actor, producer, and entrepreneur Simu Liu will be the company’s first global brand ambassador. To mark this, Simu will lead Unlimit’s ‘biggest’ campaign to date, headlining a high-impact advert which takes place behind the scenes of a movie production set. 

The campaign shows businesses how important it is to choose the ‘right’ partner in payments and allow customers the freedom to pay any way they want, anywhere they want.

Debuting online on March 3rd, 2025 across the APAC, EMEA, UK, and LATAM regions, the ad will be the first step in announcing Simu Liu as Unlimit’s first global brand ambassador, and will continue running across various digital channels for the remainder of 2025. 

In the ad, Liu navigates the different stages of film and television production and demonstrates how versatility can help people make the right choices when aiming for success. While doing this he highlights various business use cases, showing how Unlimit can tackle different payment challenges all over the globe thanks to its vast payment infrastructure and portfolio of over 1000 payment methods.

The ad was produced by Paradox House Creative and directed by Oscar-winning director Joachim Back. Meanwhile, Critically acclaimed co-chief producers Alex Chang, Merlin Merton, Kristina Tywoniuk & Mike Jones are the team behind the creative, production, and post-production aspects of the campaign.

Speaking on his involvement in the campaign, Simu said, “Unlimit’s mission – to eliminate financial borders – immediately drew me in; I apply the vision of being limitless to all aspects of my work. In the entertainment industry, you need to be as versatile as possible, catering to all scenarios and adjusting to any role; in the global business world, a payment provider has to do the same. I am thrilled to partner with Unlimit, who have successfully supported businesses across the globe for over 15 years, to deliver this message.”

Meanwhile, Kirill Eves, CEO and founder of Unlimit, commented, “Simu Liu is an extremely versatile actor, entrepreneur, and producer. His multicultural, international upbringing, determination, and entrepreneurial mindset make him a symbol of everything that Unlimit represents; he is the perfect choice as our first-ever brand ambassador.”

He added, “This campaign underlines our commitment to continue evolving our product line and payment offering worldwide so that we remain a reliable partner and go-to choice for payments for businesses of all sizes and verticals, all over the globe.”

In addition to the digital launch of the ad, which will consist of multiple strands of activity, including digital takeovers, social media activations, digital & event advertising, and social competitions, as Unlimit’s global brand ambassador, Simu Liu will also take part in the offline phase of the launch scheduled in Q2 2025.

Singapore – Grab has showcased 75 of its homegrown F&B merchant-partners, an increase from 53 the previous year. Since its listing on the Nasdaq in 2021, Grab has been using the billboard space at Times Square to feature some of its merchant-partners who serve millions of consumers across Southeast Asia through the Grab app.

For Grab, being featured on the Times Square billboard was an opportunity for these merchants to be recognised as vital representatives of their communities on an international stage.

It is worth noting that a large number of the six million merchants and partners on Grab are small-to-medium F&B outfits, with 67% of total GrabFood and GrabMart GMV was contributed by MSMEs.

“These merchants-partners typically don’t have the same marketing and advertising budget as larger players, and would not usually advertise outside their home countries,” Grab said in a recent blog regarding the latest version of this initiative.

Some of those merchants being featured include Philippines-based fruit brand Prutasan ni Adan, Malaysia-based soy sauce chicken restaurant Nasi Ayam Kee Chup, Singapore-based DIY sushi and salad chain Maki-San, and Thailand-based bakery HAAB.

Singapore – Samsung has recently rolled out a new global campaign alongside BBH Singapore, which features the Samsung Health and Galaxy AI and taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming.

The campaign focuses on the story of Stacey and Steve, who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.

Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the spot ends on a cliffhanger.

The ad, entitled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji” is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. The longform version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features. 

BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a stellar TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, Rhys has also shot several other acclaimed shows like Documentary Now!, Comrade Detective and Hawkeye by Marvel.

The idea behind the film highlights that when you get personalised AI coaching from Samsung Health, you see a clear way forward, motivating you to stay on track and making health so much more enjoyable. The Energy Score, several other new Samsung Health features including personalised coaching through wearables, sleep and exercise features are showcased in the film. 

The new campaign builds on BBH Singapore’s existing partnership with Samsung, which recently included launching a campaign for the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

The ad is running as a longform (2 and a half minute) spot as well as in 30 and 15 second edits, in global markets including UK, France, Germany and Korea and on platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

Sascha Kuntze, chief creative officer at BBH Singapore, said, “We wanted to make something entertaining to show that health doesn’t always have to be serious and stressful. Thankfully, our clients bought into it and we were able to add elements of comedy to tell a really playful story.”

Meanwhile, Sung Chang, EVP at Samsung Electronics, commented, “With the launch of Samsung Health, the new Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch7 and Ultra, we introduced our new Energy Score – a daily measurement of your physical and mental vitality calculated by your sleep, sleeping heart rate, heart rate variability and daily fitness activities. And with Galaxy AI, you receive personalized insight messages and wellness tips to help you reach your personal health goals.”

Singapore – BMW has recently unveiled its its new M5 Sedan model powering into a new era with its first electrified drive system through a new campaign, ‘Duality Untamed.’ 

This campaign not only delves into the dualistic nature of the BMW M5 but also its drivers, showcasing both its dynamic racetrack drive experience and comfort for regular and long-distance travel. 

Moreover, the narrative highlights the vehicle’s electrifying performance and innovative design, unlocking its full potential for drivers.

To capture the essence of this duality, BMW has collaborated with the man of creative extremes, Justin O’Shea. Known for his versatile lifestyle and passion for high performance, O’Shea’s distinct dual persona mirrors the BMW M5 Sedan’s sleek style and power. This partnership brings authenticity and a unique narrative to the campaign–conceptualised alongside Media.Monks.

The ‘Duality Untamed’ campaign will launch globally, with a comprehensive digital and social media strategy targeting BMW’s core markets across EMEA, APAC, and the United States.

“It’s not very often that the personality of the car and the protagonist are so in sync. Although the M5 is a dream car, I tried to stage the film in the here and now, making the dream relatable. Every car enthusiast can relate to becoming a different persona by feeling the power of such a car. This feel is what I wanted to portray. And Justin is the perfect protagonist for that,” said director Knut Burgdorf.

Singapore – Bonzai, a creative technology platform, has launched BrandStory, a new premium mobile ad format.

In comparison to single-scroll ad formats, BrandStory delivers three times the ad area and 2.8 times longer viewing periods, addressing businesses’ growing demand for more real estate to produce outcomes globally. It combines awareness, investigation, and action in a whole solution.

With 4.6 billion smartphone users worldwide (expected to rise to 5.1 billion by 2028), mobile internet traffic currently makes up about 60% of all web traffic. Recognizing this growth, Bonzai concluded that a large-scale premium mobile ad format was required. Through a scrolling user interface, this format seeks to extend the in-ad experience while simultaneously increasing brand awareness and effectively communicating more product information in a non-intrusive way. 

Building on years of observations, BrandStory is available in Australia, Zealand, and SouthEast Asia. Bonzai’s new, no-code solution does deal with the requirement for integration for current clients. It offers benefits to publishers as well as advertising.

Speaking about their latest offering, Rahul Pandey, Founder and CEO of Bonzai, said, “BrandStory is the culmination of our commitment to pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation in the advertising industry. With the explosive growth of mobile internet users worldwide, we recognised the need for a premium mobile ad format that provides more real estate for brands to captivate their audience effectively.” 

He added, “BrandStory is our answer to this demand, offering advertisers an unrivalled canvas for crafting immersive campaigns that seamlessly integrate awareness, exploration and action.” 

“We are excited to empower both advertisers and publishers with this unique, no-code solution that unlocks new opportunities and revenue streams. BrandStory sets a new standard in the industry, and we’re thrilled to introduce it across APAC, empowering brands to reach their audiences like never before,” Pandey expressed. 

Singapore – This Christmas season, Grab celebrates its food merchants across Southeast Asia by featuring their signature meals as the focus of the company’s latest billboard commercial at the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square. 

In this case, Grab has set aside the area to provide 53 domestic retailers visibility on the international scene. The program seeks to show the wide variety of culinary options that visitors can choose from when visiting Southeast Asia using the Grab app. 

The advertisement features a variety of regional favourites, such as Crispy Sisig from the Philippines, Prata from Singapore, Nasi Campur from Indonesia, Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng from Malaysia, and Bánh mì from Vietnam.

Grab has used the billboard space since its launching in 2021 to thank and recognize Grabbers, its community of driver, delivery, and merchant partners that assiduously service millions of customers every day throughout the area.

Although Grab is known for its ride-hailing service, international passengers are also becoming more aware of its food choices. For travellers from North America coming to Southeast Asia, a significant inbound travel market for the area, this peak travel season offers an opportunity to solidify Grab’s lead in the food sector.

In line with this, Grab has created the Traveller Homepage to help travellers plan their trips, particularly in unfamiliar areas. This feature allows users to navigate a city within the Grab app. Travellers can browse for points of interest, peruse the region’s cuisines and restaurants, and save their discoveries to a personalised list, which is available for 33 of the biggest cities often visited by visitors in Southeast Asia.

Bangkok, Thailand – KFC Thailand unveiled its newest trilogy of relatable advertisements that tapped into the insights of Thai people on how lunchtimes have become a dull mealtime routine. 

The latest advertising campaign is KFC Thailand’s answer to the daily work rush experienced by hardworking employees who are caught in work chaos and forget their sacred rest periods during lunch. It aims to remind the hardworking Thais that lunchtime is intended to be a pleasurable hour of their day to pause, refuel, and reflect while connecting with their colleagues.

KFC Thailand’s new advertising campaign also comes with the launch of ‘The Colonel’s Lunch’, a special lunch set that offers an affordable variety of menu pairs and aims to put an end to lackluster lunch breaks. 

With the combination of their original and iconic menu items, KFC’s ‘The Colonel Lunch Special’  promises a more fun and delicious menu for lunchtime without spending much.

Sakechai Choomuenwai, the general manager of Yum Restaurants International in Thailand, said, “There is no time anymore to think of food the way we used to. Many of us are too busy, so we tend to grab obvious snacks to keep us going through the day, without even tasting it most of the time! KFC, as usual, is on a mission to rescue lunchtime with a more positive approach – and a delicious one too.” 

Mumbai, India – In its latest report titled ‘Objectionable ads in the Beauty & Personal Care category and the rising impact of influencer marketing & D2C brands’, ad watchdog for India Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has revealed that the personal care sector has emerged amongst the top three violators.

According to ASCI, the personal care sector contributed to 12% of all objectionable advertisements it examined. The regulatory body processed complaints against 1,126 advertisements in the said sector from 2021 to 2022 and from Q1 to Q3 of 2022 until 2023.

The report has further unveiled that 5.7% of ads in violation of the ASCI Code were from the personal hygiene category, 30.3% from the skincare category, 24.7% from the cosmetics category, 19.4% from hair care, and 17.5% from multiple categories.

Social media influencers were responsible for 68% of the ads processed in the personal care category, out of which 92% violated the ASCI Code and required modifications. Of those, 77% were not contested and the voluntary compliance rate stood at 91%.

Meanwhile, 84% of violative ads belonged to D2C brands, which have a significant presence on social and digital platforms The platform split for violative ads in personal care was also divided amongst Instagram with 55.3%, YouTube with 25.9%, Facebook with 11.3%, and websites with 4.8%.

Speaking about the report, CEO and Secretary General of ASCI Manisha Kapoor said, “Personal care, particularly on digital platforms, is a high engagement space for consumers, and it is important that their interests be protected. Over the past few years, ASCI has constantly strived to update its guidelines to extend consumer protection to many emerging sectors and platforms.”

Kapoor likewise mentioned that the organisation’s AI-based digital monitoring made it possible to efficiently identify violations and drive compliance.

Moreover, the other top two violators mentioned in the report were education at 26% and healthcare at 15%. The launch of influencer guidelines in May 2021 along with ASCI’s AI-based tools has also added to the increased number of ads under scrutiny.

The report follows the amendments in ad disclaimers the ASCI has made last month.

Singapore – Carousell Media Group, the advertising arm of Carousell Group, has launched its new ad solution, Shopping Ads, to support brands in acquiring new customers and increasing sales. 

Carousell’s Shopping Ads will help provide the most relevant ads to consumers via an optimised product feed triggered by the consumer’s search queries on Carousell’s marketplaces, giving an efficient and effective way for advertisers to boost traffic to their e-commerce stores and increase sales. 

“Product search ads and their efficacy are the driving force behind the retail media

phenomenon. With over 150M product searches on our marketplaces every month, this ad solution is a natural fit that benefits both consumers and our advertising clients through more relevant and effective ads,” said JJ Eastwood, managing director of Carousell Media Group.

Earlier this year, Carousell Media Group also introduced Connect, a first-of-its-kind recommerce programmatic buying platform. By providing full-funnel marketing solutions, Connect provides advertisers with a viable alternative to closed environments such as Google and Facebook.

Australia –TikTok now allows online gambling company Sportsbet to advertise to its Australian users over the age of 21. Despite its advertising policy prohibiting any gambling-related content, TikTok is now breaking its own rules by allowing sports betting that has obtained permission from TikTok via an application process to be promoted on its platform.

According to a report by ABC, TikTok stated that the ads were only shown to users over the age of 21, but experts said this would be hard to regulate. TikTok also stated that the recurrence of the advertisements would be limited and that an “opt-out feature” would be implemented.

Even with a ‘strictly controlled advertising pilot’, as a Tiktok spokesperson stated, young people will undoubtedly see the advertisements and viral videos created about joining the races.

According to Tiktok’s guidelines, ‘TikTok defines a minor as any person under the age of 18.’ However, Sportsbet will be advertised to users over the age of 21. Although TikTok has a great mechanism for guaranteeing filtered content for its users, it is simple to modify your birthdate to appear older when creating an account for the platform.

TikTok also stated that it employs a variety of methods, including a safety moderation team that monitors accounts where users are suspected of lying about their age. In Australia, the minimum user age is 13, with accounts under 16 barred from direct messaging, hosting live streams, or appearing in the For You feed. 

According to the TikTok Guardian’s Guide, ‘if someone tries to create an account but does not meet our minimum age requirement, we suspend their ability to create another account using a different date of birth.’