Safi looks to empower hijabi gamers with new campaign

Beauty brand Safi Shayla (Safi) is challenging stereotypes and championing female empowerment with its new 'Sembur, Play, Slay!' campaign. 'Sembur' is Bahasa for the word 'Spray'.

The campaign celebrates the release of Safi parfum mist rambut (perfumed hair mist) and features hijab-wearing female gamers in a TV commercial, in-store point of sales materials and social media postings.

'Sembur, Play, Slay!' aims to send the message of empowerment and inclusivity with the brand also launching a PUBG Mobile championship tournament in Malaysia.

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The tournament was held on 6 and 7 January and was the first ever hijab-wearing gamers only tournament. It saw five teams battling it out for a grand prize of RM10,000 and an opportunity to be the brand's ambassadors in future campaigns. 

“This campaign marks a significant stride in our journey to promote inclusivity and representation in the beauty and esports realm," said Kazlina Mohd Kassim, a Safi brand and insights specialist.

"Culturally, women are sometimes dissuaded from foraying into more ‘male dominated’ sports or activities. At Safi, we believe that women should be empowered to reach for their dreams, and we’re here to help women feel confident and comfortable in all their endeavors," she said. 

The 'Sembur, Play, Slay!' campaign was created in partnership with Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS).

"The world of esports has always been dominated by males. We’ve observed a rising number of hijab-wearing gamers challenging their male counterparts in fast-paced and intense esport titles," said Lyndy Tan, associate creative director of MBCS. 

“We saw this as an opportunity to make some noise and break down the barriers to show hijab-wearing gamers who want to run the esports world with passion, confidence and style," she said. 

Safi's campaigns have always been focused on empowering hijab-wearing women. In April last year, the brand released a Hari Raya campaign to promote its new shampoo in a musical called 'Jodoh Syafiderella' (Syafiderella's soulmate).

The musical was a spin on the well-known tale of Cinderella and featured a cast of Aniq Suhair, a Safi ambassador, local celebrity Kilafairy and content creator Sofea Shaheera. 

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