Samsung shows support for Malaysian Olympians

Developed by Leo Burnett Malaysia, the campaign centers on the idea that Team Malaysia consists of not only the 29 Olympians who will be taking part in London 2012, but also the country's 28 million citizens.

London/Los Angeles-based director Gerard De Thame was recruited for the campaign’s ‘28 million strong’ TVC, starring Malaysian Olympians Azizulhasni Awang (cycling), Pandelela Rinong (diving) and Samsung Malaysia brand ambassador Lee Chong Wei (badminton).

“Team Malaysia is more than the athletes we’re sending, it consists of every single person who believes in the athletes and supports them, no matter the outcome,” Eric Cruz, executive creative director at Leo Burnett, said. 

The TVC, shot entirely in Malaysia, will air in the country’s three main spoken languages, namely Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin and English. The photographs for the print advertisements, featuring the same three Olympians, were shot by Japanese photographer Satoshi Minakawa.

The campaign is anchored around a microsite where Malaysians can join Team Malaysia by selecting a sport avatar to carry their profile photo. All the avatars are then added to a nation of athletes to create a visually stunning representation of the ‘true’ Malaysian contingent.

The site also enables people to show their words of support for the nation’s Olympians via the 'Support' section, Twitter and Facebook.

During the games, the campaign will feature a mobile app that notifies people of each athlete’s progress via a sound reactive visual equaliser, as well as on-ground engagement activities targeted at colleges and universities to rally people for Team Malaysia and to generate hype for the Olympics.

“As strong, brave or talented a person is, we get to where we need to go because of those around us,” Adam Chan, Samsung creative group head for Leo Burnett, said. “People who push us to do better even when we feel we’ve reached our limit, or those who are simply there for us, no matter the occasion.”