Week in review: 'Abused goddesses' FTW, Proton's radio fail, more

FTW or fail

Each week we select one campaign or piece of work that we agree is 'FTW' (for the win) and one that...isn't.

FTW: An easy choice this week: 'Abused goddesses' (pictured) is a gorgeous, poignant, timely, strongly confrontational campaign by Taproot India for the 'Save our sisters' initiative for NGO Save Our Children India. The copy reads: "Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to." For more images, just Google 'Abused goddesses". 

Fail: Using the Singaporean and Malaysian Ah Beng or Ah Lian caricature is best left to the professionals. For most brands it seems to be suicide. Subway tried it in Singapore and flopped, now we hear (geddit?) that a Malaysian radio ad for Proton Suprima S is driving (oh, I kill myself) the locals up the walls.

The extended radio ad currently running too frequently for everyone’s taste reportedly has a Mr Chan informing the general public in an Ah Beng accent and a flat dull voice that “People keep talking about cars, But how much do they know about cars. I wonder now.” Mr Chan wonders because all of Malaysia’s car buffs are not driving the Proton Suprima S.

We couldn’t find a copy of the ad (please send us a link if you have one), but here’s a parody:

It seems the original is even worse. Agencies handling the account were at last report NagaDDB and Pico, but we haven’t gotten anyone to fess up to making this ad yet. 

The incredibly dull extended TV ad at least has a nice soundtrack (if you like cheesy love songs from the early 1980s):

Disagree with our choices? Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below, on our Facebook page (look for a post relating to this article) or by Tweeting @CampaignAsia. 

Top stories

Here are the most-read stories on CampaignAsia.com for 6-12 September.

1. Melbourne's Metro Trains to be named Advertiser of the Year at Spikes Asia 2013

2. Effective use of YouTube

3. ROI, advocacy, mobile messenger apps and craziness stand out at #SMMHK 

4. WSJ's Mariko Sanchanta tipped to join Burson-Marsteller as MD in Hong Kong

5. Prudential launches regional brand campaign and social-media platform

6. KF Lee of Aegis Media China tipped to move up to a chairman role

7. Q&A: Mondeléz's Cindy Chen on Chinese memes, snacking needs and why Oreos are golden in China

8. H&M and Coca Cola among those winning over Singapore's Generation Y: Influential Brands

9. Updated: NTUC FairPrice’s 'pretentious' expat dinner event draws fire

10. Evisu strives to reverse the wheels of fortune after five years in the red

Distractions

And finally, here's a few things that we enjoyed when they crossed our glowing screens this week.

1. 'What does the fox say?' It's from Norway. Don't try to understand. Don't ask why it exists. Just enjoy it, like the 21 million people before you.

2. Google just released its list of the top 10 most successful ads on YouTube in Asia for 2013:

1. Turkish Airlines - Kobe vs Messi: Legends on Board - Alametifarika
2. Evian - Baby & Me - Havas
3. Metro Trains - Dumb Ways to Die - McCann Melbourne
4. Dove - Real Beauty Sketches  - Ogilvy Brazil
5. Pepsi MAX - Test Drive  - TBWA\Chiat\Day
6. Call of Duty - Black Ops 2  - 72andSunny
7. GoPro Camera - HERO3  - GoPro Media Team
8. Samsung Mobile - Introducing GALAXY S4  - Cheil
9. Air New Zealand - Hobbit - DraftFCB
10. Lifebuoy - Help a Child Reach 5 - Lowe

3. We don't think Darth Vader is going to stand for this non-uniform uniform choice.

Thanks for reading Campaign Asia-Pacific!