Safi breaks stereotypes surrounding young women in hijabs

Wipro Unza’s halal beauty brand Safi wants to spread the message of empowerment to young women in Malaysia as part of its #SISREDAHJE campaign. The campaign coincides with the launch of the new Safi Shayla hair mist variants for women wearing the hijab, motivating them to reach their fullest potential and achieve success. The 360 campaign seeks to break stereotypes and perceptions and highlights young women leading their lives with confidence.

The #SISREDAHJE campaign roped in all-girl acapella group Bahiyya Haneesa as brand ambassadors. It launched with a video featuring the group’s latest song Percaya (Believe), rewritten as a branded version for TVCs and digital. The video sees the Bahiyya Haneesa group of eight women - Universiti Malaya students Afi, Bella, Bonn, Fatin, Nina, Syasya, Suha and Wafa live their dreams and embrace life as they explore the world around them through diverse interests across sports, dance, music and creativity.

The campaign runs until the end of October across TV, digital and on-ground activation. As part of this, a creative video challenge will be held until 31 October to give Safi Shayla users a chance to win prizes worth up to RM20,000. Participants will be required to share a creative video featuring their Safi Shayla products and campaign song and upload it to TikTok with the #SISREDAHJE and @SAFIMALAYSIA tags. The campaign was done in collaboration with Ensemble Worldwide, which was appointed following a pitch which also saw TBWA\, SPIN Communications, and Geometry Global participate in the pitch. Former incumbent Wunderman Thompson was initially shortlisted but did not participate in the pitch.

Saki Goh, GM, marketing of Wipro Unza, said it is excited about this campaign on so many levels – primarily the delivery of an extremely empowering message in the spirit of feminism for young women. Goh explained that the Safi Shayla woman seeks to engage authentically to reflect their personality, so it is essential as a brand that it connects with its younger audience in a culturally relevant way.

“The Ensemble team comprehended the depth of this need, and we were hooked onto #SISREDAHJE from the moment we heard about it. To all young women out there, our message is be yourself, and go for it. Safi Shayla believes in you,” Goh added.

Adora Kamalia Mohd Roslan, copywriter of Ensemble Worldwide, said #SISREDAHJE was more than just a campaign idea. It is a mantra, a battle cry for all hijabis out there.

“As a hijabi myself, I have experienced the expectations of being a quiet, obedient girl first-hand. I felt like I could not be myself without people judging and talking about it. Apparently, a lot of other hijabis feel the same way. So, when the brief from Safi Shayla came in, we saw it as the perfect way to answer to these stereotypes and expectations,” she explained.

Meanwhile, junior art director of Ensemble Worldwide, Fatin Nabilah Harun, said besides the uplifting message, the team wanted to break the stereotypes held about hijabis and change the perceptions that people have about them.

“Having Safi Shayla, a brand that I personally grew up with, on our side and sharing the same values, is a huge win for us as hijabis. We were never the perempuan melayu terakhir (loosely translated as traditional Malay woman) that society wants us to be. We’re bold, energetic, ambitious and adventurous, and we wanted this message to shine through,” she added.

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