Marrybrown's intentionally baffling spelling errors that brands join in on

Marrybrown has taken a rather unconventional approach to unveil its latest MB Mala Fried Chicken. Over the past two weeks, netizens who came across Marrybrown's social media accounts were left baffled by the numerous typos in its social media posts. Some wondered if the admin was getting too comfortable while working from home, while others asked if Marrybrown was up to something.

It all started with a tweet on 21 October which read "Clikc here for delivrey". That same day, the admin posted: "Forgot your lumnch coz of all the Zoom calls? No problme. J̝͉̻͎̼̳u͇s̠̖̗̮̗̙t̬̹̱ ̪̘͖̯̰̘o͉͎͍̙r͓͉de̼̞̩̬̤̞̣r͕ ̭̹̘y̥̹̠̫̗o̩u̲̳r̝̳͍ MB MEAL via delivery and enjoyr after(or during) yor o̯̯̩n̙͇l̗͓͙̬u̫͈ṋe̘̼̭̭̻ͅ ̯̹m̭̻̲̦͓̣̤ẹ̤͙̫̩ͅet̥͈̣͈͇̠̰i͔n̙g̼̗̭ͅs̱͚̩̪̠!" This prompted netizens to ask if Marrybrown's admin was doing alright. The brand kept up with this for the next few days, publishing posts with more spelling errors.

(Note to reader: The strange fonts are not a glitch!)

https://twitter.com/MarrybrownMY/status/1318736608972075008

https://twitter.com/MarrybrownMY/status/1321089273924374534

A few days later, Marrybrown revealed that the spelling errors and strange squiggly lines were not the doings of an intern, nor did it face any technical issues with its keyboard. Instead, this was done as part of its "Are You MALA-YSIAN enough? Too Hot, Can’t Talk" campaign which celebrates the launch of its MB Mala Fried Chicken. Also, the strange words were due to the mouth-numbing after effects of the mala taste, making it too hot to speak properly.

Marrybrown's senior marketing manager Lynn Low told A+M that based on its insights, Malaysians have a knack for adding on spice to their lives, such as the mala flavour. As soon as one bites into a spicy meal, they experience an explosion of heat in their mouths, causing them to be unable to speak due to the heat and tingling sensation. As such, Low said the brand thought:

"What if we can bring this e̺͎̱x̫p̩̜͡l̖̠̯̖͈̜o̻sḭ̗̲̟͝v̻͙̝͍ͅe ̗̱̬̭͕̖͢feeling to lif͖e̘̹͎ to ̙̘͓͞s͚̪̠̼̗̪̯͡h͘o̧͙u̳͙̯̹͜t̙̱̘̦͠ ̜͇̖̩̯̫a̬b̫͔̜̟̩ͅͅo͡ụ̣ṭ͖̰͇͙̙̰ ͈̤̯͙̳͉͡M̴̫͉͔̼a̱̩̘̹l҉̱͇ą͓̲̜̤͎͇͚-t̻̮̰u̟͢p?̺̼͙͙̮͜ An& whjat if we canb do tjis in a vbery imrtertestung way?"

That was when it decided to work with SLPR Worldwide, which handles digital, social and PR duties for the campaign, on a two-pronged approach. For approximately three weeks, the team brainstormed and curated several ideas. Its recent stunt acts as a teaser to a bigger Mala-tup campaign which will run until December 2020.

SLPR's senior partner and chief operating officer of Southeast Asia, Leon Tang, said the two-pronged idea was designed to visualise and communicate the effects of fiery-hot explosions which Mala-tups in the mouth after consuming the MB Mala Fried Chicken. The aim was to kickstart the buzz and curiosity for the Mala-tup fried chicken menu, and to bring about the notion of "Too hot, can't talk" by digitally hijacking Marrybrown's social media pages.

Marrybrown aims to increase its social engagement such as campaign reach and brand relevance among fans via this campaign. The brand said it is planning another Mala-tup stunt which will be released in a few weeks' time.

"Being a homegrown Halal fast-food chain, we want our content to appeal and relate to our local audiences. Much like the menus we produce, we definitely aspire to include local elements that suits our local taste while ensuring to highlight on the uniqueness available in our menu," Low added.

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Brands join the fun

Netizens were not the only ones who picked up on this. Brands such as Nando's and Domino's Pizza Malaysia also poked fun at the spelling errors. Nando's, for example, offered to belanja (treat) Marrybrown to a dictionary or a new keyboard when the latter asked for a PERI-PERI chicken treat. Meanwhile, when Domino's was asked by Marrybrown to belanja some pizzas, the pizza chain said: "Haiya, what is that word? Cannot read."

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