MY DJ buys billboards to celebrate birthday: Are personal ads really a thing in OOH?

MY FM Malaysian radio deejay Gan Mei Yan, also known as Mavis, has been taking over OOH spaces across Kuala Lumpur with a host of personal billboards.

The deejay first gifted herself two billboards along the LDP expressway and on the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 highway in celebration of her 40th birthday. She later put up another billboard alongside the federal highway to celebrate her 20th anniversary at MY FM. 

That's not all, shoppers at Pavilion KL might have also come across digital OOH ads where the deejay is seen dancing and wishing herself a happy birthday. Accompanying the digital OOH ads is a contest where she asks onlookers to record a video of themselves dancing with the video and to post a birthday wish on social media detailing why they like her.

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The birthday billboards, according to media intelligence firm CARMA, was positively received, with sentiments leaning 66.7% positive and 0% negative.

Similarly, media intelligence firm DATAXET NAMA found that 61.3% of netizens took the opportunity to wish Gan a happy birthday. 3.8% of netizens recognised the billboard as a clever marketing strategy and 2.5% complimented the deejay's appearance or the aesthetics of the billboard.

While most comments were positive birthday wishes, there were a notable portion of netizens who viewed the billboard as an unnecessary display of wealth (10.6%) and questioned its relevance as news (6.2%), added DATAXET NAMA.

A remaining 6.2% of netizens said the billboard was an attempt to seek attention while 9.4% had expressed confusion about her identity, indicating a lack of recognition among audiences.

In a word cloud by media intelligence firm Meltwater, the word cloud associated to her birthday billboards included terms such as 'breakfast show', 'MY FM' and 'deejay'. This suggests the deejay's association to the radio station.

Meanwhile, words such as 'mystery', 'big orange billboard' and 'Mavis' highlights netizens' curiosity over the billboard.

Similarly, sentiments towards the digital birthday dance billboard were positive too. According to DATAXET NAMA, 73.6% of netizens wished Gan a happy birthday while 25.2% complimented her on her dancing skills and performance. 

A small 1.2% of netizens inquired about billboard ad prices. 

Billboards in Malaysia typically cost RM 10,000 for a 400-square-foot static billboard and RM 1,000 for a 600-square-foot digital billboard, according to Henry Low, CEO of Spectrum Media.

According to Low, who was previously the president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia, the rules of advertising does not say which parties cannot put up OOH ads, with the only exception being lawyers and doctors.

"Lawyers and doctors are not allowed to advertise themselves. Medical-formulated milk is also not allowed to be advertised on billboards," said Low. "Other than that, it is permissible for anyone to put up a billboard for as long as they don’t touch on the topics of race, religion and ethnicity, and that the ad does not display sex appeal."

In Malaysia, the local council has made it clear that ads cannot touch on three elements - race, religion and ethnicity. Sex appeal is also controlled, added Low.

"In Malay, we call it ‘aurat’. We cannot show aurat and we cannot put too sexy videos on billboards," explained Low. 'Aurat' are parts of the body that are forbidden to be exposed or displayed to others. This includes body parts such as the navel and the knees amongst others.

In addition, getting an OOH ad up is a rather straight-forward process too once it is approved.

"We first have to send the creative content to a government agency called Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka who will approve the usage of Bahasa Malaysia. Once it is approved, we will send it to the local council and then it will go up," explained Low. 

Do personal ads muddy the advertising landscape? 

Despite the ease of putting up a billboard in the country, Low is of the opinion that personal ads do not muddy the landscape because the paradigm for OOH advertising has evolved.

"There are many KOLs and influencers right now who have begun to realise the effectiveness of billboards and are now using it to advertise themselves rather than go onto social media. This is because billboards target the general masses rather than segmentation," said Low. 

Low added that he has not received any verbal or written complaint or unhappiness about personal billboards from advertisers during his time as the president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia. 

Ben Baker, managing director for APAC at Vistar Media shares the opinion that billboards are the perfect place to convey personal messages.

"I love it. While OOH isn't traditionally a one-to-one medium, in some instances, it's the perfect place to convey personal messages. Whether it's a welcome home greeting or a marriage proposal, people love the fame and visibility that OOH provides," said Baker.

"These personal messages create a unique and memorable experience that people are excited to photograph and share on social media."

He added that the public nature of OOH makes these moments special and widely celebrated.

Similarly, Baker does not think personal billboards muddy the landscape. In fact, it is the brand themselves that initiate such activities, said Baker.

"For example, Tooheys New, a beer brand, used OOH to communicate with Travis Kelce when he arrived in Australia for a Taylor Swift concert. These personal messages can create a buzz and enhance the public's connection to both the brand and the personal story being shared," explained Baker, referencing a billboard Tooheys created that said, "Welcome Trav, just in time for the real footy to start."

Baker added:

As long as the intentions are good and the messages are in line with community standards, it's a fantastic way to use OOH.

That said, strict guidelines around politically motivated personal information in the APAC region must be maintained to ensure that all content remains respectful and appropriate, added Baker. 

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