This is what goes on behind the scenes of an ad, according to Lazada MY

Lazada Malaysia has taken viewers behind the scenes of making an ad in its latest Ramadan and Raya sales campaign. 

The sales campaign, "Jualan Ramadan fantastik" ("Fantastic Ramadan sale") and "Jualan Raya fantastic" ("Fantastic Raya sale") will run from 5 March to 6 April respectively. 

Both ads feature a wannabe-thespian director and his long-suffering crew, who pull back the curtain on typical ads featuring glitzy musical numbers and celebrities. 

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In the Ramadan spot, veteran Malaysian actress Nora Danish is portrayed as a homemaker doing chores. The actress speaks too fast whilst trying to squeeze too many sales messages into a few seconds. 

The director directs her to speak faster and scolds a crew member for holding a sign upside down. The sign reads '25% Lazcoins cashback'. 

As for the Raya spot, the director and crew are seen trying their best to salvage a festive song-and-dance routine that's been disrupted by the brand's mascot, Lazzie. In the same ad, the director highlights offers such as 'discounts up to 90%' and 'RM9 off for every RM90 spent'. 

These Ramadan and Raya films hit the sweet spot between being culturally relevant and memorable in execution, with sales callouts woven organically into the script, said the release.

This has enabled Lazada to stay true to its character as an eCommerce company, while being relatable to Muslim consumers, it added. 

“We constantly strive to find the best deals for consumers, and the Raya and Ramadan sales are no exception. Having a little laugh at ourselves through the film executions allows us to connect with our audience better, while achieving the commercial cut-though we’re looking for,” said Lazada’s group chief marketing officer, Marcus Chew. 

In addition to these ads, Lazada has also launched giveaways and contests with many prizes to be won. Consumers can show off their creative flair with a 'Comment and Win' contest on Lazada Malaysia's Instagram and stand a chance to win prizes such as Dyson V8 Slim Fluffy, Tefal Easy Fry and Grill Classic and more. 

On top of that, shoppers can simply cart out during the Ramadan and Raya sales campaign and stand a chance to win prizes worth more than RM80,000 in value. 

This year, Ramadan and Raya campaigns have been steering away from heartwarming films and moving towards more technical ones. Most recently, Julie's Biscuits, tackled gender biases and stereotypes in artificial intelligence (AI) in its new Raya ad.

Titled "A Raya A.I.dilfitri ad", three marketers at Julie's are seen using an AI programme called AdGPT to make a Raya ad to promote the brand's love letters biscuits. When trying to fix the AI, the marketers are sucked into the AI realm itself and chat face to face with AdGPT itself. AdGPT reveals that it learned its biases and stereotypes from old Raya ads and documentaries. 

In a twist, one of the marketers grows extra fingers on his hand. It is later revealed that they are part of an AI-generated Raya ad made by two children who are visiting during Hari Raya. The ad ends with a call to reset biases this Raya and wishes viewers a 'Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri'.

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