Malaysia Airlines finalises agency appointments; names Ogilvy, Landor

MAS has named Ogilvy & Mather Advertising as its retained master creative agency to work on its account globally out of its Kuala Lumpur office. Malaysia Airlines shortlisted agencies for its corporate identity and master creative pitches in August last year.

DraftFCB, in partnership with FutureBrand, is one of the two agencies shortlisted for the pitch for the corporate identity business. The second agency is Johan Design Associates. DraftFCB, M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather were the finalist agencies at the last round of the pitch for its master creative account.

Meanwhile, strategic brand consulting and design firm Landor Singapore was appointed as the official brand agency for its A380 fleet.

Ogilvy & Mather will be working on a new brand campaign to break this summer that will move the airline’s image further into the premium sector. Al-Ishsal Ishak, senior vice president for marketing & promotions at Malaysia Airlines, noted that this year will be a breakthrough year for Malaysia Airlines on its path to recovery.

“We recognise, however, that we cannot achieve financial success without defining who we are and what we stand for. Ogilvy understood this and were best able to translate our message into a powerful campaign idea. An idea that is big enough to help us transform our business and truly engage our customers like never before.”

Jonathan Aeberhard, managing partner of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising said, “Ogilvy is the spiritual home of the Malaysia Airlines brand, and it’s great to have them back with us. We believe passionately in the potential of the airline.”

Anand Badami, group managing director of Ogilvy, meanwhile said, “This was the most sought-after and hotly contested pitch in Malaysia, we are delighted to come out on top, but the hard work only really starts now. We are ready for the challenge and look forward to helping Malaysia Airlines regain their lustre.”

In a separate statement, Landor has launched the new identity and livery for the national carrier’s brand direction and visual identity system for its A380 fleet today, both print and online.

Ishak said, “The direction from Landor for our A380 flagship fleet captures the essence we will now travel as we strive to re-engage our customers.”

Nick Foley, president Southeast Asia & Pacific at Landor, said, “This is a significant project for Landor in the region and builds on our heritage of branding airlines globally. We look forward to partnering with Malaysia Airlines in order to sustainably build the brand in the long term.”