It’s the festive season once again here in Malaysia. I say “once again” because Hari Raya is just one out of the 984235 festive seasons we have every year. That’s right, in Malaysia we have more holidays than workdays. #Butwecomplainsalarytoolow.
One of the best things about the festive seasons in Malaysia – besides the food, family and more food – is the abundance of ads that prove Malaysians are indeed creative. Which makes you question garbage like this.
Yesterday, TNB released an ad which takes the proverbial cake. In fact, this ad is so damn epic, it’ll be taking proverbial cakes for the next 10 years.
Check out the ad below:
Okay, if you were hoping for an emotional, content-heavy, thought provoking, advertisement that would bring back memories of Yasmin Ahmad’s finest work, then this definitely isn’t it. But that does not mean that it isn’t good.
If described in words, this may seem like a pretty normal ad. Stressed-at-work chick makes Raya cookies to buy dope clothes for her family, except she accidentally leaves the newly bought clothes on the side of the road to her family’s disappointment. Yeah, I know. Lame, right?
Sure.
But allow me to use a quote I have already used a billion times before (and will most likely use a billion times more) Roger Ebert once said:
It’s not what it is about, it’s how it is about it.
Of course, Roger Ebert was referring to movies. But I think it’s safe to say that this can be applied to ads or any art form for that matter. And while the premise of this ad may be average, it’s clear that the creators have put quite a lot of thought into it. Firstly, I’m confident the director of this ad probably spends his free time jacking off to the Cornetto Trilogy (or other Edgar Wright films). I mean that as a compliment. Edgar Wright is a great visual comedic filmmaker. That “swoosh” sound effect as the protagonists’ mum passes the phone to the little kid, screams Edgar Wright. And so do the cuts to the family in their dream Raya clothing. The same can be said about the exaggerated performances and the boss sliding away after slamming a stack of files on Aida’s desk – again with an exaggerated sound effect. Mind you, I’m only at the first 40 seconds of the ad.
But I don’t only see Edgar Wright. In fact, right at the start of the film, I see a tinge of Martin Scorsese as well. No, I don’t mean gangsters, foul language and sniffing cocaine from a lady’s bare bottom. And unfortunately, I don’t mean Margot Robbie’s genitalia either. But check out that ZOOM at the 0.02 mark. That’s a technique popularised by Martin Scorsese.
Check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NnN81hHj_M
But perhaps the coolest (yet unnecessary) moment comes somewhere at the end. The iconic Jurassic Park water rippling shot.
Steven Spielberg’s brilliant shot works in Jurassic Park because it serves to add tension without actually showing you the dinosaur. It simultaneously increases both, anticipation and fear. What does that same glass of water do in this Raya ad? Absolutely nothing. But 10 points to you sir, because #JurassicParkistoodamnawesome
With its commitment to an exaggerated style, this epic ad will definitely be ingrained in the memories of Malaysians for a long time.
What are your thoughts? Is this ad a complete waste of time, or is it awesome?
