Magnum gives a sweet send off to Money Heist fans in SG and MY with exclusive bundle

Magnum has partnered with renowned Netflix show Money Heist to bid a sweet goodbye to "La Banda" - the show's iconic band of criminals- in the second part of the show's final series. Magnum said in a media statement that the collaboration seeks to pay homage to the final heist with a sweet send off, with an array of deals and offerings exclusive to pleasure seekers and Money Heist fans in the Singapore and Malaysia markets. 

In Singapore, five curated Magnum Ice Cream bundles with Money Heist merchandise will be retailed exclusively on GrabMart until 12 December 2021. A spokesperson from Magnum told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that GrabMart was chosen as the exclusive retailer for the campaign in Singapore due to its wide-range partnership with Magnum's parent company Unilever that was established in 2020.

GrabMart was also chosen to ensure that its products, including its limited-edition Money Heist merchandise, are "widely, easily and safely accessible to all", the spokesperson added.

Currently, Unilever has also set up virtual Unilever Ice Cream stores on the Grab app, which provides the platform's users instant access to their favourite ice cream brands. "Orders are then fulfilled by Unilever retailers located closest to the consumer. The majority of these stores are offline businesses, such as neighbourhood mom-and-pop shops and ice cream carts, so that they are able to leverage on Grab’s platform and technology to generate more sales and support their livelihood as we move towards a future of digitalisation," the spokesperson added.

Magnum also worked with lifestyle influencers in Singapore such as Soh Pei Shi and Xiao Ming to host giveaways during the campaign period. Goodies will include show memorabilia, including replica gold bars, iconic red jumpsuits, Dali masks and tote bags, and Magnum ice creams. A quick check on Instagram by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE showed that Soh Pei Shi's giveaway has already ended. Money Heist fans can also look forward to a brand-new AR filter on Instagram, where they will be able to don the jumpsuit and mask and indulge in Magnums to reveal a sweet goodbye message from La Banda. 

“Money Heist is a truly exceptional series that has stolen hearts all around the world. We are thrilled to have a part in this exciting adventure and hope that even as the heist comes to an end, we can sweeten the moment for fans everywhere and help them keep the spirit of resistance alive,” said Ellen Yap, marketing manager of Unilever Foods & Refreshments, Magnum, said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has a slightly different strategy where fans can also look forward to a secret goodbye message from La Banda. Fans will have to come together to solve over 3,000 puzzles, pixel by pixel, to unlock a hidden message from the crew to stand a chance to win show memorabilia, including replica gold bars, iconic red jumpsuits, and Dali masks. 

The curated Magnum Ice Cream bundles in Malaysia will also be available via eCommerce and food delivery platforms such as Foodpanda, Grab, Lazada and Shopee. Shoppers in Malaysia can also get their hands on an exclusive Magnum x Money Heist cooler bag with every purchase of two or more Magnum Mini multipacks at major hypermarket and supermarket chains.

Stephanie Ng, marketing manager from Wall’s Ice Cream, Unilever Malaysia said, “When it comes to banding together, we’ve seen how powerful it can be when the right brands collaborate to entice a wider audience, drive talk-ability and forge stronger brand equity for both parties. So how could we ‘resist’ Money Heist -a truly exceptional series that has taken the international scene by storm and swiftly gathered loyal fans along the way? We can’t wait to witness the grand finale with the perfect Magnum ice cream treat in hand.”

Netflix also pulled out all the stops when the first half of Money Heist's finale launched worldwide. Following its launch on 3 September, Money Heist had shot up the rankings to becoming among the Top 10 trending shows on the platform, particularly in Singapore. According to Southeast Asia statistics from Meltwater, the number of mentions for Money Heist from 1 September to 10 September jumped by 1,261% to 59.8k, compared to the previous period. Most of the chatter came from Twitter, which had 58.3k conversations. 

Some of the trending themes included "money heist", "true love", "same way" and "several lives". Most of the online sentiment around Money Heist was neutral (59%) and only 14% was positive. Also, most people used the love emoji to express their thoughts around the series while some also used sad and joyful emojis. According to Meltwater, most of the tweets came from the Philippines followed by Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Separately, Garena unveiled an exclusive Free Fire x Money Heist live action short film for its Indonesian players in September last year. The three-minute film features Indonesian actor and martial artist Joe Taslim as his in-game character "Jota". Drawing reference from Money Heist, the film showed Jota and the other Free Fire characters (Moco, Andrew, Kelly, and Hayato) using their in-game abilities for a heist. The film ends with Jota himself inviting Free Fire players to join him and the characters in-game.

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