SUB CATEGORY :

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHT

ENTRANT COMPANY :

STAR REACHER ADVERTISING SDN BHD, KUALA LUMPUR

TITLE :

HEINEKEN HEIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

BRAND :

HEINEKEN

ADVERTISER :

HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BERHAD

AGENCY :

LEO MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

GLOBAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER LEPUB, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER PUBLICIS WORLDWIDE :

BRUNO BERTELLI

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER :

ANDREW MICHAU

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER :

NEIL HUDSPETH

MANAGING DIRECTOR :

FIRZAN MULAFER

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

EMIR SHAFRI

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

ISKA HASHIM

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

DAVID HK TAN

CREATIVE GROUP HEAD :

VICKKNESH RAJ

CREATIVE :

IVAN LOOS

ART DIRECTOR :

DAVID HK TAN

COPYWRITER :

VICKKNESH RAJ/JING JIE CHANG/POON SEE HIAN

DESIGNER :

DIYANA YUSOF

BUSINESS DIRECTOR :

IRENE KUAN

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER :

AMANDA LIM

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE :

CATHRYN LOH

STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER :

BENJAMIN CHEONG

STRATEGIC PLANNER :

KAIYISAH SUHAIMI

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

PRODIGIOUS MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

AV PRODUCER :

ADRIAN LEE/FAIRUZ MAZLAN

HEAD OF AV :

NISHA KHIRUDIN

AV EDITORS :

SAM CHIA/LOH KOK CHENG

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

Advertising alcohol is illegal in Malaysia. Even showing Heineken’s products or full logo on billboards and our delivery trucks could lead to fines and jail time in this dark market, which means Heineken couldn’t even be a part of Malaysia’s massive US$335M/year out-of-home advertising scene. Making it tough for a foreign, premium-priced beer like Heineken to stand out during Chinese New Year, the biggest season for beer sales, against locally loved brands that have long been associated with the celebration. While alcohol brands simply advertised online under strict conditions, we needed to find the right, relevant way to stand out. Legally, of course.

Exchanging auspicious greetings is a key Chinese New Year tradition, many featuring the word "Hei," meaning happiness in Cantonese, such as "Gong Hei Fatt Choi” (wishing you happiness and prosperity) and “Hup Ka Foon Hei” (wishing your family happiness). One also cannot spell Heineken without those same three letters.

So, we sought inspiration from this Chinese New Year custom to design a campaign only Heineken could own. We cropped our iconic logo, using its first three letters to complete various Chinese New Year greetings, and featured them across our delivery trucks as they travelled 36,465 kilometres on existing delivery routes across Malaysia as highly visible billboards-in-disguise. While instantly recognisable, the cropped logos made the trucks technically unbranded in the eyes of Malaysian advertising laws, making Heineken the only beer brand legally advertising outdoors during this peak season. Soon, what started outdoor even spread online and, on the news, as people shared Heineken “Heidden in Plain Sight”. Influencers and everyday Malaysians alike even began using the “Hei” on Heineken cans to form their own Chinese New Year greetings on social media.

INSIGHT :

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, while alcohol sales to the non-Muslim minority is permitted, it’s strictly regulated by law. For instance, depicting and promoting alcohol products and brand logos on above-the-line media, including the nation’s massive US$335M yearly out-of-home scene, are strictly prohibited and punishable by fines and jail time. Even alcohol brands’ delivery trucks cannot be branded with full logos. All of which effectively makes Malaysia an advertising dark market.

This makes it particularly tough for a foreign, premium-priced beer brand like Heineken, particularly during Chinese New Year, an annual celebration widely associated with locally favoured beer brands like Tiger Beer and Anchor Beer. A key part of the celebrations are reunion feasts with family and friends, which contribute to it being the biggest season for alcohol consumption in the country, and therefore the most competitive sales period for alcohol brands.

Needing a way to stand out, we noticed that several key Chinese New Year greetings that are a part of the significant greetings exchange tradition contained the phrase “Hei”, or happiness in Cantonese, such as “Hup Ka Foon Hei” (wishing your family happiness) and “Gong Hei Fatt Choi” (wishing you happiness and prosperity). Of course, one cannot spell Heineken without those same three letters.

STRATEGY :

While other alcohol brands focused on online advertising under strict conditions in this advertising dark market, Heineken set its sights on the great outdoors, untouched by other beer brands, to stand out during Chinese New Year and reinforce that celebrations are more complete with Heineken.

So, we tapped into a key Chinese New Year tradition–festive greetings–and literally completed them. Through popular greetings that creatively cropped the Heineken logo to highlight the word “Hei” (which also means happiness in Cantonese), we turned the brand’s own delivery trucks that usually couldn't be branded into visible mobile billboards-in-disguise as they made routine deliveries across major Malaysian cities. This cheeky strategy allowed Heineken to be the only beer brand dominating the outdoors uniquely and legally.

CREATIVITY IDEA :

The exchange of auspicious greetings is central to Chinese New Year tradition, with many featuring the word “Hei”, meaning happiness in Cantonese. Notably, “Hei” is also the first three letters of Heineken.

We tapped into this cultural tradition to create a campaign that no other brand could replicate, standing out in Malaysia’s advertising dark market. We cropped the first three letters of our iconic logo to complete a series of Chinese New Year greetings, featuring them on our delivery trucks—vehicles that normally couldn’t display our full logo. While instantly recognisable as Heineken, cropping the logos ensured compliance with Malaysian advertising laws, while transforming our trucks into highly visible and legal billboards-in-disguise as they travelled 36,465 kilometres across the country making routine deliveries.

This smart use of media allowed Heineken to dominate outdoor spaces legally, creating the only visible beer brand presence outdoors during the festive season. The campaign’s unique approach not only captured attention on the ground but also sparked widespread online and media coverage, reinforcing Heineken’s message of making celebrations complete.

EXECUTION :

We cropped the iconic Heineken logo, using its first three letters to complete Chinese New Year greetings on 11 of our delivery trucks. This ensured the trucks remained legally unbranded under Malaysia’s strict advertising laws where showing the full logo is illegal, while still being instantly recognisable as Heineken. Our trucks became mobile billboards-in-disguise that covered 36,465 kilometres on existing delivery routes to bars and supermarkets throughout Malaysia over 49 days, seamlessly integrating with existing logistics to avoid operational disruptions.

Romanised Cantonese ensured broad appeal in Malaysia, where most Malaysian Chinese understand spoken Cantonese but not written Chinese. This approach also resonated with non-Cantonese speakers familiar with these common Chinese New Year greetings, maximising the campaign’s reach. In addition, to cater to the minority who do read Chinese characters (who would understand romanised Cantonese anyway), the trucks ran in both Latin and Chinese alphabets. The greetings in Chinese characters had the character for “Hei” replaced with the cropped Heineken logotype.

This strategic use of media transformed everyday logistics into a powerful communication channel, allowing Heineken to dominate outdoor spaces where alcohol advertising is typically banned. All while tapping into the cultural significance of Chinese New Year greetings, making Heineken a part of the festive narrative in a way no other beer brand could. The campaign naturally extended online as Malaysians shared their discoveries of “Heidden in Plain Sight,” with influencers and users creating their own greetings using the “Hei” on Heineken cans.

RESULT :

The campaign reached 33.9 million people (in a population of 34.5 million), 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.