Malaysian agency BW Creatives makes splash with 'Election Cereals'

Politically aware breakfast-munching Malaysians can choose between Special A (for leader of the opposing political party Pakatan Rakyat, Anwar Ibrahim) and Najib Treats (representing Najib Razak, the incumbent Malaysian prime minister and leader of ruling coalition Barisan Nasional). The cereals, which retail for US$6.60 (RM20) are limited edition, with only 1000 of each available and specially numbered. Half of all profits will be donated to a charity.

So far, Special A is well in the lead with about 400 boxes sold, versus less than 100 of Najib Treats, BW Creative co-founder Vern Lee told Campaign Asia-Pacific. 

The idea for the cereals, explained Lee, stemmed from a desire to create something meaningful and creative while showcasing what the agency can do. 

"I'm a keen observer of politics, not just in Malaysia but worldwide, and wanted to find a way to connect with younger Malaysians who may not be as interested," he said, adding that he hoped the cereals would prompt 20-somethings to vote. 

So Lee and several of his friends designed and produced the boxes. The cereals, buyers may be relieved to know, are repackaged from commercially available cereals that were bought off the shelf. 

The nation's 13th General Elections (GE 13), which will be held on 5 May, is arguably the most anticipated political event of the current voting generation. Ruling coalition Barisan Nasional has held power ever since Malaysia's independence in 1957 and has never been deemed closer to losing to an opposing party. 

In 2008, BN faced its worst election results ever, failing to retain the two-thirds majority required to pass amendments to the Federal Constitution. Following this event, then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stepped down in favour of Najib Razak, who has held the post unelected until now. 

GE 13 is also notable for the high levels of political awareness it has generated among Malaysia's younger voters, with 2.9 million new first-time voters, most aged under 40, registered to take part in the election. The election was also preceded by some of Malaysia's largest political rallies, Bersih (meaning 'clean' in Malay), calling for a free and fair election without vote tampering. Thanks to this lobbying, Malaysians living abroad (with the exception of those residing in Singapore) have received the right to vote overseas for the first time in Malaysian history. 

As a result the elections has also seen unprecedented levels of online activity, including the humourous cereals—a first in a country where the government fiercely controls political coverage in mass media as well as online. 

So far, the agency has not faced negative backlash for its initiative and has even given a box of Special A to Ibrahim who promptly Tweeted approvingly that it was "funnny" [sic]. 

BW Creatives started life as BW Design in 2008. Founded by former McCann Erickson art director Ben Wong and Lee, who was a copywriter with Compass Interactive. The independent shop largely did point-of-sale and below the line design work for clients such as GSK, Nike  and Johnson & Johnson. 

"It was mostly project based design work for packaging and so on, but after awhile we found the work rather robotic and unfulfilling so starting this year we rebranded as BW Creatives and intend to focus on creative work rather than pure design work," said Lee. The agency will continue with existing design contracts but will no longer take on work that isn't to support a creative account, he added. 

"This year we are challenging ourselves to work on more self initiatives/independent projects on top of the existing client work," said Lee. "The Election Cereals project is the first (among many ideas in the works), combining design with a current hot issue. We will also be focusing more on campaigns and branding initiatives for our new clients. Since the Election Cereals were launched, we’ve been approached by small boutique businesses like a wedding planner and a discount booklet company to help rethink their brand."