AIA gets MY to rethink health with heartwarming campaign spotlighting locals

AIA Malaysia has launched a new brand campaign to empower all Malaysians to challenge stereotypes around health and reframe what it means to be “healthy” for Malaysians from all walks of life.

The #RethinkHealthy campaign looks to challenge the way Malaysians view health, to help make it a bigger part of everyday life.

Don't miss: AIA Hong Kong mobilises the city to ‘Rethink Healthy’ with 360-degree integrated marketing strategy

The campaign microsite features four Malaysians from different walks of life who shared their unique stories, each representing one of the four focus pillars – physical health, mental health, financial health and environmental health.

The campaign encourages Malaysians to join in by taking a personal pledge on how they too can aim to “Rethink Healthy”.

The campaign features John from Incredible Food Co who shares his personal struggles with weight. He’s now a motivational speaker who sells healthy ice cream and aims to spark conversations about sugar addiction.

It also features Uncle Yen of Urban Orchard KL who coped with the loss of his son by taking care of his orchard in TTDI.

Through nurturing the environment, he centred his mind and now shares this connection to nature with urban youth to support their mental health.

Finally, there is Emir from Millennial Finance who makes personal finance accessible and fun for Malaysians.

This self-taught millennial understands the financial struggles of his peers and has built a trusted community who relies on his bite-sized, relatable video content.

Finally, there is Wei Ean of @KitaMY.Co who was a former shopaholic turned thrift, who realised her overflowing wardrobe contributed to landfill waste.

This compelled her to create a thriving community e-commerce platform for sustainable fashion, reducing landfill waste.

“The Asian health crisis is real, and Malaysia is no exception. Despite increasing wealth, concerns over non-communicable diseases and mental health are on the rise, spurred by environmental and lifestyle factors – and yet, the idea of being healthy seems so inaccessible to many," said Chee Foong Wai, chief marketing officer of AIA Malaysia.

“#RethinkHealthy addresses this need by reframing the journey to health and wellness and making it more inclusive," Chee added. "We want people to approach health by committing to simple, everyday actions. By changing the way, we view health and understanding that everyone has their own unique journey – we are reframing the narrative around health to be more inclusive, holistic and accessible. We believe that through this campaign, we will engage many more Malaysians to live healthier, longer, better lives.”

“Society still has a very specific image in mind when they think of ‘the picture of health’. While this is slowly changing for some, most people still feel that being healthy means having a slim physique or looking fit. However, this end-goal imagery can have us feeling that good health is unattainable, even when you’re actually putting in the work," said Rudy La Faber, creative director of MBCS.

“In conceptualising this campaign, we asked ourselves what goes into this equation of being healthy and how we could inspire more Malaysians to get on board. We realised that more than anything, mindset and preconceptions were the biggest issues. There are many ways one can achieve better health; all we have to do is to #RethinkHealthy.”

The 360 degree #RethinkHealthy campaign runs till October across digital platforms, programmatic, DOOH, radio and KOLs.

From the end of August until early September, there will be a #RethinkHealthy mobile photo exhibition at various locations in Klang Valley, showcasing captivating stills of what healthy means through the lens of everyday Malaysians

Related articles:
AIA's CMO on how to redefine health and inspire a healthier Asia
AIA Singapore taps actress Janice Koh for new 'Talk To Me' content push
AIA extends HK Observation Wheel sponsorship to continue harbourfront vibrancy