Silver
Creative Strategy
Cultural Insight
| Entrant: | Leo Burnett, Kuala Lumpur |
| Brand: | Heineken |
| Title: | "Heineken Heidden In Plain Sight" |
| Corporate Name of Client: | Heineken Malaysia Berhad |
| Client Company: | Heineken Malaysia Berhad, Kuala Lumpur |
| Client Company Marketing Manager: | Joyce Lim |
| Client Company Brand Manager: | Jen Lyn Sin |
| Media Support Company: | Dentsu Red Star, Kuala Lumpur |
| Agency: | Leo Burnett , Kuala Lumpur |
| Agency Global CEO LePub, CCO Publicis Worldwide: | Bruno Bertelli |
| Agency Chief Executive Officer: | Neil Hudspeth |
| Chief Creative Officer: | Emir Shafri |
| Executive Creative Director: | Iska Hashim |
| Associate Creative Director: | David HK Tan |
| Agency Creative Group Head: | Vickknesh Raj |
| Copywriters: | Vickknesh Raj/Jing Jie Chang/Poon See Hian |
| Art Director: | David HK Tan |
| Agency Designer: | Diyana Yusof |
| Agency Producers: | Adrian Lee/Fairuz Mazlan |
| Agency Head of AV: | Nisha Khirudin |
| Agency Editors: | Sam Chia/Loh Kok Cheng |
| Agency General Manager: | Angeline Tan |
| Agency Managing Director: | Firzan Mulafer |
| Agency Chief Strategy Officer: | Andrew Michau |
| Agency Strategic Planning Manager: | Benjamin Cheong |
| Agency Strategic Planner: | Kaiyisah Suhaimi |
| Agency Business Director: | Irene Kuan |
| Agency Account Executive: | Cathryn Loh |
| Agency Account Manager: | Amanda Lim |
Description:
To make things tougher, advertising alcohol is illegal in this dark market, where displaying alcohol brand logos on above-the-line media and even on delivery trucks could lead to fines and imprisonment.
This meant Heineken couldn’t participate in Malaysia’s massive US$335M/year out-of-home advertising scene. While alcohol brands simply advertised online under strict conditions, we needed a way to stand out and be relevant to the occasion. Legally, of course.
Idea: Auspicious greetings are central to Chinese New Year, many featuring the word "Hei," meaning happiness in Cantonese. So, we tap into this cultural custom to design a campaign no other brand could own. We cropped our iconic logo, using its first three letters to complete a series of Chinese New Year greetings.
These cropped logos featuring Heineken “Heidden in Plain Sight” were featured on 11 delivery trucks, transforming them into highly visible billboards-in-disguise—the only legal outdoor ads for a beer brand in Malaysia during the festive season.
Over 49 days, these trucks travelled 36,465 kilometres on their regular routes to bars and supermarkets across the country. While the greetings were instantly recognisable as Heineken, the cropped logos ensured compliance with Malaysian advertising laws.
Soon, what started outdoors went online and across the news as people spotted Heineken “Heidden in Plain Sight”. Influencers and everyday Malaysians even began using the “Hei” on Heineken cans to create their own festive greetings on social media.
Outcome: The campaign reached 33.9 million people, earned US$6.8 million in media value, and was 163% more effective than average out-of-home media buys. Sales volume increased by 14% compared to Chinese New Year 2023. All with zero media spend, zero changes to logistics, and, thankfully, zero arrests.