Malaysia Airlines - Raya Around the World

Malaysia Airlines - Raya Around the World

Malaysia is one of the world’s largest Muslim-majority countries, and so Raya (called Eid in other countries), which marks the end of Ramadan is of course a big occasion.

To mark the event, Malaysia Airlines’ advertising agency MC Saatchi produced a short film on how different cultures around the world celebrate Raya / Eid.

Mirroring key Malaysia Airlines destinations and its route network, the video was filmed in the airline’s home country of Malaysia as well as India, China and Japan.

That in itself is an interesting selection as India and China have minority (but not majority) Muslim communities, while Japan is not a country usually associated with Islam.

The message behind the ad was a standard one for an airline: that travel broadens the mind and showcasing the variety of different cultures and how they celebrate a common religious holiday.

The ad itself did not feature actors, the scenes and people filmed were real, while the pilot who stars in the video, Capt. Zakir Ibrahim, works for Malaysia Airlines. Capt Ibrahim in fact provides the narration for the ad, and at the end he is shown celebrating Hari Raya with his own son.

The whole campaign is underpinned by an interactive microsite, which invites users to ‘explore Eid.’ Clicking on a landmark on the map brings up a series of images and explanations on how the Muslim community in each country marks the occasion.

Though the map clearly is designed to showcase Malaysia Airlines destinations, one unintended consequence of displaying it as an interactive globe is that it also shows all the places Malaysia Airlines does not serve.

For example, Africa is completely blank despite having numerous majority- Muslim countries, the same with North and South America and Europe outside the UK. Meanwhile in the Middle East only Saudi Arabia has an icon.

In retrospect it might have been better to design the map in a different way.

The fact remains though, the ad is beautifully shot and narrated and it brings to life an important religious festival celebrated by a billion people worldwide.

So far, the campaign has received extensive coverage in the Malaysian press.

Key Take-Away

The message that travel is a good thing is an obvious one for an airline, it is its whole raison d’être after all. However, while the idea isn’t new, the execution of the ad is done very well. Two things in particular stand out.

First of all, the airline chose countries you wouldn’t really immediately associate with Eid (e.g, it could have chosen Saudi Arabia but selected Japan instead). Secondly, the use of staff and ‘real people’ always resonates. It gives the campaign a degree of credibility and authenticity.