Final Report: MasterChef Malaysia Billboard Advertisements

We chose to re-advertise MasterChef Malaysia billboard advertisements. Generally, MasterChef is a show about finding the best home cooks through several challenges and help them become culinary masters. The contestants compete to become their countries' next MasterChefs with large cash prizes. Since one of the media MasterChef Malaysia used to advertise their show is through billboard, their target is to convey the message to the mass audience at one go. Below are few examples of MasterChef Malaysia billboard advertisements:

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

MasterChef Malaysia billboard advertisements' purpose were to attract Malaysian viewers to watch MasterChef Malaysia television series as well as encourage amateur cooks in Malaysia to participate in the MasterChef Malaysia competition. 

The MasterChef Malaysia billboard ads did not rely on visuals to convey their message instead they rely on typography. The language they used is Bahasa Melayu, in colloquial terms. However, the words chosen are not right, meaning certain words could come off as rude and therefore confuse as well as put off the audience. In addition to that, the billboard advertisements are placed in urban areas, thus targeting audiences who are mostly from there. However, the choice of words used in the billboard ads were not suited for the urban market since people who come from there are mostly well spoken. Furthermore, there is no consistency at all in terms of MasterChef theme as well as design elements. 

Below are MasterChef Malaysia advertisements that we re-advertised:

For our concept, we decided to choose "self-confidence". We chose "self-confidence" because we want Malaysian viewers, including amateur cooks to see that the contestants who take part in MasterChef Malaysia are groomed to become masters and have self-confidence in what they have produced. Moreover, Malaysians feel uncomfortable when they are being singled out for doing well. Therefore, we are trying to encourage Malaysian viewers to have better self-confidence by being proud of what they have accomplished and not being afraid of showing their abilities. The tagline we used is "Serlahkan Keyakinan Diri Anda", when translated in English means let your self-confidence shine. In our billboard ads, our models will initially show reluctance, nervousness and doubt when signing up to be a contestant in MasterChef Malaysia however portray self-confidence when they are contestants progressing in the competition and competing to become MasterChef Malaysia.

In our advertisements, our models will wear their professions "uniform" when they want to sign up for the competition as well as while presenting their well-presented dishes. We decided to use three professions, which are doctor, engineer and businesswoman as these three professions are considered high-paying and popular jobs in Malaysia. 

The models that we are using for our billboard advertisements are of mixed race. By using mixed race models, we are showing that as distinct as the culture of each race may be, the intermingling of the population gives rise to a special blend of culture and hospitable warmth that the Malaysian people are so famous for. We are also attracting Malaysian races to participate or watch MasterChef Malaysia because this show is open to all races.

Moreover, the design elements we used shows MasterChef Malaysia identity and have consistency in the design elements of the show such as color, symbols, logo and logotype. Based on our research, orange color is used for MasterChef logo, logotype and for other elements like the text in their different advertisements. Therefore, we used orange to keep in line with the MasterChef identity. We also used fire flames to have a common theme with MasterChef Malaysia's other designs. Portrait of the judges or contestants is another design element that is being used in many MasterChef advertisings worldwide. Thus, we used the portrait of contestants in our advertisements.

Advertisements that depict ways of life other than acceptable by Malaysain society are not allowed. The Advertising Code’s decent dress code stipulates that a female model must be “covered until the neckline, the length of the skirt worn should be below the knees, the arms may be exposed up to the edge of the shoulder but armpits cannot be exposed”. The female models in our billboard ads adhere to these codes.

Reference links:

GTI Media (2011). Top 10 Careers in Malaysia [Online] Available at: http://gtimedia.asia/news-clippings/the-sun-28-june-2011-top-10-careers-in-malaysia/ [Accessed 26 June].

Jobsmart (2011). Top Paying Hot Jobs in Malaysia [Online] Available at: http://jobsmart.com.my/cms/updates/top-paying-hot-jobs-in-malaysia [Accessed 26 June].

David S. Waller. Cultural Values and Advertising in Malaysia: Views from the Industry. Cultural Values and Advertising in Malaysia. [Online] Available at: <http://www.google.com.my/urlsa=t&rct=j&q=cultural%20advertising%20in%20malaysia&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CEYQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fciteseerx.ist.psu.edu%2Fviewdoc%2Fdownload%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.202.3457%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf&ei=vi25UdekGcPKrAeU-4CYBA&usg=AFQjCNEpITdWxX-j4nr_DyJ-mK21mVLTOA&sig2=y19YxGRFXBpH361eD6Mamw&bvm=bv.47883778,d.bmk> [Accessed: 13 June 2013]

Ernest Cyril De Run, Muhammad Mohsin Butt, Kim-Shyan Fam. (2010) Attitudes towards offensive advertising: Malaysian Muslims’ views.  Offensive Advertising. [Online]. Available at:

<http://academia.edu/1863723/35_Attitudes_towards_offensive_advertising_Malaysian_Muslim_vuews >  [Accessed: 26 June 2013]

Malaysia Travel Guide (2012). Malaysia Culture, a melting pot of many nations. [Online]. Available at: <http://www.malaysia-travel-guide.com/malaysia-culture.html> [Accessed: 26 June 2013]

Pedersen, P., Asma Abdullah. 2006. Understanding Malaysian Culture: delights , puzzles 

and irritations about Malaysians. Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya : Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

MasterChef Malaysia. [electronic image] Available at: <http://falihinjasmy.blogspot.com/2011/10/final-blogger-masterchef-bakal-diuji.html> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

Gordon Ramsay. [electronic image] Available at: <http://www.fox.com/masterchef/bios/judges/gordon-ramsay> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

Beth Kirby. [electronic image] Available at: 
<http://www.fox.com/masterchef/bios/contestants/beth-kirby/> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

[electronic image] Available at: <http://www.brandthinkasia.com/2011/02-mediaheadlines-reality-tv-crowd-sourcing-social-trends-cleo-magazine/> [Accessed 25 June 2013].


Picture Credits:

Figure 1, 2 and 3
Kenwooi. (2011). MasterChef Malaysia Billboard Adverts Suck. [Online] Available at: http://www.kenwooi.com/2011/12/masterchef-malaysia.html [Accessed 3 June].

Re-advertised MasterChef Malaysia Billboard Advertisements

These are MasterChef Malaysia billboard advertisements that we revamped or re-advertised:

Figure 1: Mei Yun as businesswoman

Figure 2: Ridhwan as doctor

Figure 3: Maisarah as engineer

Sketches and notes

By Rachel

By Alia Amira

By Brindha

By Pegah

Concept and points taken into consideration when making the billboard ads

Concept

The concept that we have chosen for our 3 billboard ads is self confidence. In MasterChef, the judges find the best home cooks and through many challenges help them become culinary masters. Throughout the show, contestants who were initially amateurs are groomed to become masters and have self confidence in what they have produced. That is why we have chosen self confidence as our concept for our billboard ads. Addition to that, Malaysians feel uncomfortable when they are being singled out for doing well. In our billboard ads, we are trying to encourage Malaysian viewers who watch the show as well as the competitors to have better self confidence by being proud of what they have accomplished and not being afraid of showing their abilities.

The tagline we will be using is "Serlahkan Keyakinan Diri Anda", when translated in English means let your self confidence shine. In our billboard ads, our models will initially show reluctance and doubt when signing up to be a contestant in MasterChef Malaysia however  portray self confidence when they are contestants progressing in the competition and competing to become MasterChef Malaysia.

Points taken into consideration for our billboard ad

Language:

The Malay language is the national language in Malaysia. Malay language is used as a medium of communication among different ethic groups in both rural and urban areas. Therefore, by using malay language for our billboard ad, we are targeting not only urban but also rural television viewers.

Food:

In Malaysia, food is just more than food. The act of eating together is a symbolic act to preserve friendships and strengthen networking among groups as Malaysians tends to converse over the food. It is seen that most events in Malaysia includes food and eating together (Asma Abdullah, 2006).

Malaysians of different ethic groups take great effort and trouble to ensure the food served are plentiful for all to enjoy (Asma Abdullah, 2006). This is to show the good hospitality and friendliness to their house guests.

Base on this research, is safe to say the food in Malaysia plays a significant role in Malaysian culture so that is why we have chosen to include food images into our revamp billboard.

Careers:

Careers are very important to everyone in general. Different countries with different cultures "believes" (meaning the way they view) in different careers. In Malaysia, careers like doctor, engineer, businessman are considered excellent because of the high-paying salary, which malaysians considered a "guaranteed" road to success. 

All the contestants in Masterchef Malaysia have their own professions. They are not chefs or trained chefs. They are all amateur cooks. In their billboard ads, they used the contestants' professions and words related to cooking (mangkuk, tulang, etc.) together to produce Masterchef Malaysia's "image". However in our ads, instead of relying fully on the language (words) to send the message, we used visuals of the contestants "wearing" their profession while cooking so that everyone could understand the billboard advertisements instantly. So we used few of the top careers in Malaysia to portray it on the contestants. 

Attire:

The advertising code in Malaysia is heavily influenced by Islamic values.

Advertisements that depict ways of life other than acceptable by Malaysian society are not allowed. The laws are meant to ensure that mass media content adhere to Islam principle and values. The Advertising Code’s decent dress code stipulates that a female model must be “covered until the neckline, the length of the skirt worn should be below the knees, the arms may be ex- posed up to the edge of the shoulder but armpits cannot be exposed”. When making our billboard ad, the models that we use will adhere to these codes.

Race:

The models that we are using for our billboard ads are of mixed race. Ridhwan is of Malay, Chinese and Indian, Mei Yun is of Chinese and Indian and Maisarah is of Malay and Chinese. As distinct as the culture of each race may be, the intermingling of the population gives rise to a special blend of culture and hospitable warmth that the Malaysian people are so famous for. We are also attracting Malaysian races to participate or watch MasterChef Malaysia because this show is open to all races.

Design Elements:

We want to use design elements that shows MasterChef Malaysia identity and have consistency in the design elements of the show such as colour, symbols, logo and logotype. Based on our research, orange colour is used for MasterChef logo, logotype and for other elements like the text in their different ads. So we will use orange to keep the identity.
We will use fire flames to have a common symbol with MasterChef Malaysia's other designs. Portrait of the judges or contestants is another design element that is being used in many MasterChef advertisings worldwide. Therefore we are also using the portrait of contastents in our ad.

Reference:

GTI Media (2011). Top 10 Careers in Malaysia [Online] Available at: http://gtimedia.asia/news-clippings/the-sun-28-june-2011-top-10-careers-in-malaysia/ [Accessed 26 June].

Jobsmart (2011). Top Paying Hot Jobs in Malaysia [Online] Available at: http://jobsmart.com.my/cms/updates/top-paying-hot-jobs-in-malaysia [Accessed 26 June].


David S. Waller. Cultural Values and Advertising in Malaysia: Views from the Industry. Cultural Values and Advertising in Malaysia. [Online] Available at: <http://www.google.com.my/urlsa=t&rct=j&q=cultural%20advertising%20in%20malaysia&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CEYQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fciteseerx.ist.psu.edu%2Fviewdoc%2Fdownload%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.202.3457%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf&ei=vi25UdekGcPKrAeU-4CYBA&usg=AFQjCNEpITdWxX-j4nr_DyJ-mK21mVLTOA&sig2=y19YxGRFXBpH361eD6Mamw&bvm=bv.47883778,d.bmk> [Accessed: 13 June 2013]

Ernest Cyril De Run, Muhammad Mohsin Butt, Kim-Shyan Fam. (2010) Attitudes towards offensive advertising: Malaysian Muslims’ views.  Offensive Advertising. [Online]. Available at:

<http://academia.edu/1863723/35_Attitudes_towards_offensive_advertising_Malaysian_Muslim_vuews >  [Accessed: 26 June 2013]

Malaysia Travel Guide (2012). Malaysia Culture, a melting pot of many nations. [Online]. Available at: <http://www.malaysia-travel-guide.com/malaysia-culture.html> [Accessed: 26 June 2013]

Pedersen, P., Asma Abdullah. 2006. Understanding Malaysian Culture: delights , puzzles 

and irritations about Malaysians. Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya : Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

MasterChef Malaysia. [electronic image] Available at: <http://falihinjasmy.blogspot.com/2011/10/final-blogger-masterchef-bakal-diuji.html> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

Gordon Ramsay. [electronic image] Available at: <http://www.fox.com/masterchef/bios/judges/gordon-ramsay> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

Beth Kirby. [electronic image] Available at: 
<http://www.fox.com/masterchef/bios/contestants/beth-kirby/> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

[electronic image] Available at: <http://www.brandthinkasia.com/2011/02-mediaheadlines-reality-tv-crowd-sourcing-social-trends-cleo-magazine/> [Accessed 25 June 2013].

An overview of Malaysia

Malaysia is a unique country where three primary race groups which are Malay, Chinese and Indian co-exist harmoniously. Differences in terms of religion, customs, code of dressing, behavioral patterns and etc are compromise for peace and harmony.

In Malaysia, there are two terms that are frequently used which is Bumiputra and non Bumiputra. Bumiputra  concerns orang asli (Aboriginals), Malays and Malay-related ethic groups found in Sabah and Sarawak.The Malays dominates peninsular Malaysia while the rest are usually found in Sabah and Sarawak. The term non bumiputra consists of the Chinese, Indians and also smaller minority groups such as Arabs, Filipinos , Armenians, Eurasians and Europeans.

Islam is the main religion in Malaysia while other religions such as Christian, Buddhist and Hindu and others are also freely practice.

Main language of Malaysia is Bahasa Melayu but language such as English, Mandarin and Tamil are widely spoken. Dialects such as Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien are also used during daily conversations.

Foreigners would notice that Malaysians tend to use colloquial sayings in English such as no problem la, can can, boleh lah. This is used to promote understanding among Malaysians.

Reference: 
Pedersen, P., Asma Abdullah. 2006. Understanding Malaysian Culture: delights , puzzles and irritations about Malaysians. Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya : Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Food Significance in Malaysian Culture

When mention Malaysia, foreigners and local alike will think of FOOD. Being a multicultural country, Malaysians are spoil with endless food choices.

In Malaysia, food is just more than food. The act of eating together is a symbolic act to preserve friendships and strengthen networking among groups as Malaysians tends to converse over the food. It is seen that most events in Malaysia includes food and eating together (Asma Abdullah, 2006). This custom is a symbol of demonstrating the hospitality of the host and for relationship building among friends and family. For example, the local mamak stores are usually the late hangout place among teenagers and young adults, especially during the football season. In short, food is a means of socializing in Malaysia.

Most festivals in Malaysians such as Hari Raya, Deepavali, and New Year focuses on eating and drinking. This provide opportunities for individuals to mingle either from same of different ethic groups. Open house concept or Hari Terbuka (malay language of open house), which originated from the malay culture is now a means of celebration of racial co-existence. Malaysians are able to visit other different ethic groups and enjoy various traditional dishes.

Malaysians of different ethic groups take great effort and trouble to ensure the food served are plentiful for all to enjoy (Asma Abdullah, 2006). This is to show the good hospitality and friendliness to their house guests.

Base on this research, is safe to say the food in Malaysia plays a significant role in Malaysian culture so that is why we have chosen to include food images into our revamp billboard.

Reference: 
Pedersen, P., Asma Abdullah. 2006. Understanding Malaysian Culture: delights , puzzles and irritations about Malaysians. Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya : Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

National Language In Malaysia

The Malay language is the national language in Malaysia. Although Malaysia is a multicultural nation, Malay is the spoken language among Malaysian and is ranked sixth in the world in the total number of speakers.(Asma Abdullah, 2006.)

Malay language is used as a medium of communication among different ethic groups in both rural and urban areas. Therefore, by using malay language for our billboard ad, we are targeting not only urban but also rural television viewers.

Due to the existence of vernacular schools in Malaysia, some Malaysian are still more comfortable speaking their own mother tongue, making most, but not all, uncomfortable and lack confidence in communicating in English(which is the lingua franca nowadays). Besides that, many words amd idioms in Malay and Chinese do not retain their meaning when translate literally into English(and vice-versa). They would sometimes have difficulty expressing and understanding eaxctly in English.(Asma Abdullah, 2006). Base on this research, if we use english language in our billboard, this makes Malays, Chinese and Indians unable to connect with our ad in a personal level, so the second best option to communicate with all ethic groups in Malaysia is to use malay language which is the Malaysia's national language. 

Also, most Malaysians between ages of 7 to 30 years have been educated exclusively in Malay as Bahasa Melayu is the national language and medium of instructions in national type schools and some tertiary institutions.(Asma Abdullah, 2006).

Overall these reasons are why we chose to use proper malay words to communicate with the audience for our revamp ad. 

Reference: 
Pedersen, P., Asma Abdullah. 2006. Understanding Malaysian Culture: delights , puzzles and irritations about Malaysians. Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya : Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd.