Faced with the challenge of creating a film to commemorate the upcoming Eid-al-Fitr celebration amidst the quarantine restrictions of Malaysia’s Movement Control Oder and a massive reduction in production budget, FCB’s latest effort for RHB Bank once again demonstrates the power of creative in a time of unprecedented adversity.
Titled Hikmah, the film reflects on the unprecedented changes that millions of Malaysians are coming to terms with while ushering Ramadan and Raya this year, and how behind the adversities lie silver linings that enable us to discover new hope and strength in one another; a timely reminder for the nation as it continues to get back on its feet during this festive season.
Abdul Sani Abdul Murad, group chief marketing officer of RHB Group: “With RHB heavily focused on helping people and business weather the current financial crises, its commitment to supporting front-liners and prioritisation of key stimulus activities such as the SME Special Relief Facility, we had neither the usual time nor resources available to us. Given the circumstances, we could have opted out of a Raya campaign but that’s not in keeping with the RHB’s challenger brand ethos. Malaysians look forward to these films and providing inspiration in such difficult times is an important part of what we do as a brand. This piece is one we are really proud of because we didn’t give up…and that’s fundamental in the pursuit of progress.”
Ong Shi Ping, chief creative officer of FCB Malaysia: “Creating a story that’s compelling, on-brand and contextually relevant will always be a challenge. Compounded with not having our usual array storytelling options available to us, due to the MCO and re-allocation of budgets, the difficulty is magnified tenfold! The end result…a proper end to end story using only stock imagery and footage is a great testament to how adversity can be overcome with the right attitude and a lot of perseverance!”