NSFW: Malaysians paid by ad agency to say racist things on camera

Melayu semua pemalas.

Cina semua pendatang.

India semua pemabuk

These were the things that ad agency Naga DDB asked regular Malaysians to say on camera, as part of a mock audition (some were even offered money). And this is the video result.

PS: Before you play the video, please be warned that it contains slight foul language, and might make for uncomfortable viewing.

Originally pitched as a Merdeka Day ad, you can imagine why it might’ve been turned down. Still, the creatives at Naga DDB – Woei Hern, Alvin Teoh and video director, Chun Son, decided that the social experiment they created was worth releasing to the public regardless. Eventually, the video was released as an exclusive for The Malay Mail Online, because they wanted a brand that shared the same ideals.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was also asked to be interviewed (Woei Hern is a friend of mine), but because they were so secretive about the topic or end-product, I politely declined.

In another interesting piece of trivia, the interviewer is the same dude that appeared in the now famous DiGi Merdeka ad. Vix was once a creative at Naga DDB (which is also the creative agency) but is now a freelancer.

We screened the video in the office this morning, and we honestly got goosebumps watching it. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable, yet comforting videos we’ve seen.

After the goosebumps receded tho, a few of us had the same question. So we asked the creators…

Were there any unpublished interviews?

“There were over 50 interviewees, but to fit into a short video, we had to edit down to the best interviews,” said Woei Hern, creative director at Naga DDB. “But yes, ALL of the participants defended each other’s races.”

“Of course, when prompted, some of them did say the lines, as they thought it was part of an audition,” he continued. “But the few that did felt extremely uncomfortable saying it, and we’d like to apologise to them for putting them in that position.”

Once again, we’re actually kinda relieved they didn’t call us for the interview. In fact, to the question of how much it would take to say one of those racist statements? One respondent said, “Not for a million ringgit.”

Sure no racists meh?

“We were super nervous before the three-day-long shoot cos we didn’t know how it would turn out.”

On the Malay Mail Online’s FB page, responses are polarizing so far, although leaning towards positive, especially for those sharing it.

There are also those that will point out that most of those interviewed were from the urbanite group. To that, let’s point out the obvious. Of course, not all Malaysians are unracist. We’ve seen enough evidence to point to that. BUT, that the people in this video were willing to stand up, and be counted as united? Well, that’s something that we can get behind.

We think it turned out amazingly. Well done Naga DDB and Reservoir.

UPDATE (9/9/2014): One of our readers, CCK, has highlighted that the format of the video is similar to this one

We agree the format is similar, but then again, it’s not the format that matters as much in this case, but the balls and will to pull it off. Keep in mind, ugaiz… it’s unlikely there was much money invest in this. The people who ran this experiment assumedly wanted to show Malaysia a different side, and at substantial risk. That’s what we should be applauding them for. 

Besides, personally I think the other video’s kinda lame – there was no surprise in the way they reacted.

Aaaaanyways… Cukup controversy la.

We’re gonna go back and watch the other one with happy music now 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddXLbwYkaIQ