Tag: Ensemble Worldwide

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In celebration of the Chinese New Year, Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas has released a new film that gives importance to culture and heritage that serve as the ‘roots’ of every individual. The theme is anchored to the Petronas festive theme of the year, ‘Roots of Our Future’ which highlights and embeds the richness of heritage, customs and culture into all the festive films of 2023.

Titled ‘Yǐ Hé Wéi Guì’ or ‘The Negotiation’, it features a community of shopkeepers who received a devastating news that they need to leave their places on the eve of Chinese New Year because businesses will be developed in their area. They are convinced that they will benefit from the plan due to the job opportunities. However, the group didn’t want to leave because the place brought joy and memories to them.

The film ends with the residents staying in the community, celebrating the festive together, in a unified effort to save their history, heritage, home and way of life. It was also shown that the community was also preserved by fixing the roads and buildings.

This film is created in collaboration with Ensemble Worldwide, the creative unit of Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), the media-fueled creative content practice within the IPG Mediabrands network. It was directed by multi-awarded director P Prem Anand Pillai, in collaboration with Reserve Tank as the production house.

Ahmad Nazril Ibrahim, group creative director at MBCS explained that the film highlights how it feels to be a Malaysian. He also said that upon the modern development of society, it is important to understand the cultural heritage which serves as the roots that shapes an individual’s identity in a significant way.

Ibrahim added, “We’re excited to be embarking on this new journey of films with Petronas for the year, and hope all Malaysians are excited to journey with us in celebration of our rich culture and heritage.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – OPPO celebrates the Malaysian spirit and character this Merdeka and Malaysia Day through its colourful and interesting new brand campaign called ‘Our Traits in Portraits’. Through a montage of ‘portraits’, a different personality and character is spotlighted.

Done in collaboration with Ensemble Worldwide, the creative unit of Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), the campaign showcases valued traits of Malaysians such as resilience, devotion to tradition, and strength and determination to achieve significant aims in life. 

Each portrait is a vivid and gorgeous shot featuring a specific Malaysian in his/her walk of life, and through this ultra-clear detail, the campaign aims to shine a light on the best portrait features of OPPO’s Reno8 Series, and ultimately, cement its position as ‘The Portrait Expert’.

Norman Tang, creative director of Ensemble Worldwide, said, “Portraits are powerful mediums. A rich, vivid one captures the traits that clearly define who we are. This motivated us to look towards portraits as a way to showcase the traits that make us extraordinary as Malaysians. Particularly portraits shot by The Portrait Expert – the Reno8.”

Tang shared that in order for them to breathe life into Reno8’s Merdeka/Malaysia Day narrative of ‘Our Traits in Portraits’, the team searched for inspirational Malaysians and landed on a diverse set of personalities which included a K2 summiteer, a para sprinter, a national flood relief hero, and more. 

“All possess different traits that Malaysians are known for and are proud of. Resilience, generosity, strength, creativity… the list goes on. We definitely struck gold with these heroes,” he added. 

Alex Chen, marketing deputy director of Oppo Malaysia, commented, “The video showcases an amalgamation of distinctive characteristics that every Malaysian possesses, that resonates with OPPO’s brand proposition – “Inspiration Ahead”. Just like them, we are all about empowering people who are not afraid to take on challenges. Together, OPPO wants to be a part of every Malaysian’s daily [life], and hopes to inspire and encourage Malaysian users to embrace future challenges with optimism and dedication.”

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.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – With Malaysia Day around the corner, smartphone brand OPPO together with creative agency Ensemble Worldwide has come up with a unique but endearing narrative on the importance of family and togetherness for its commemorative ad.

Titled ‘D Flat’, the four-minute film starts with blasting gory music featuring individuals of different backgrounds that have turned completely rowdy. As the film progresses, we see that this is a mere imagining of the real sticky situation that the protagonist ‘Fahmee’ is in, losing his income and photography studio.

The ‘neighbors’ who were shown to be a complete disturbance to Fahmee in the beginning, would soon turn out to be his ‘blessings’, helping him to recover. Through the use of the new Reno6 by OPPO, Fahmee chanced upon taking the casual photo of his neighbor and bakeshop owner, which by surprise, garnered attention from his other neighbors due to the photo’s great quality and professionalism.

Soon, Fahmee is commissioned to take the photos of his other neighbors – a salon owner, a music teacher, and an aunty – and slowly rebuilt his portrait studio.

Creative Director of Ensemble Worldwide, Norman Tang, said that the character of Fahmee and what he is going through is one that is relatable to many Malaysians who have been affected either directly or indirectly by the pandemic.

“When thinking about the idea for Malaysia Day, we wanted to play out this idea of unity as it starts with our neighbors, our closest connections outside our family. Unity is a very basic concept, and it starts with a single gesture of reaching out to one another,” commented Tang.

Meanwhile, Nikki Chen, OPPO’s marketing director, said that this message of harmony and unity is what OPPO wants to share this Malaysia Day.

“The team at Ensemble has managed to put together a very ordinary story in a very extraordinary and beautiful way while demonstrating the Reno6. We hope it will touch the emotions of all Malaysians the way it has touched us in putting it together,” said Chen.

The film is directed by renowned Malaysian director Lobak Loon and ends with the tagline ‘Erat sebumbung. Harmoni bersama’ which loosely translates to ‘Together is a place called home’. The ad went live on 7 September 2021 across digital platforms.

Malaysia Day will be celebrated on 16 September. The film for Independence Day is also part of OPPO’s overall campaign for Reno6.

The new model was launched in August with the product tagline “Every emotion, in portrait,” highlighting the “Bokeh Flare Portrait” and “Bokeh Flare Portrait Video” feature for stunning portrait images.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Restaurant company Pizza Hut in Malaysia has appointed Ensemble Worldwide, the creative agency within media marketing solutions IPG Mediabrands, to be its new creative agency of record.

Pizza Hut by Yum! Brands is established and operated by QSR Brands, which deems to be Malaysia’s largest restaurant chain operator.

The appointment, which is a period of one year with the option to extend for another year, will see Ensemble Worldwide continuing Pizza Hut’s brand transformation journey to repivot into a modern pizza experience.

Pizza Hut Malaysia’s Chief Marketing Officer Emily Chong shared that they were looking for a partner who understands the varied nuances of their new normal. 

“One who is able to bring a distinctive flair to drive our brand communications to the next frontier. Ensemble’s passionate and bold spirit of innovation, coupled with a data-centric approach to understanding youth culture certainly fits the bill. We look forward to more ground-breaking work with the newly appointed Team Ensemble/ Pizza Hut,” said Chong.

Meanwhile, Mei Jeng Phang, managing director of Ensemble Worldwide, said that the pandemic brought about numerous shifts across the board yet these changes have given them an ability to dive even deeper into data-driven creativity to build brands, drive business, and grow for the future. 

“We have a great opportunity with Pizza Hut to build on the e-commerce repositioning and broaden brand appeal. The team shares the right chemistry and is raring to sink our teeth into some cool innovative comms, so watch this space as we have some exciting plans in store together,” said Phang.