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].