DDB Singapore creative on viral Ramadan ad: ‘It’s a human story everyone can relate to’

Well done.

Good on you for shaming [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] with this kind of awesome work, and also the awesome Effies performance. There is no substitute for good work and time will tell. Shame on [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] for biting the very hand that fed them. Shame also on [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] for supporting such a backstab. It’s not the sleazy kind of thing we locals do.

Such a lovely ad. I mean I can barely go till 2nd breakfast without feeling starving. I feel for my team guys that are fasting. Props to DDM and Mickey Do-do’s

Not quite as neat as our stuff for Insurance and Live Births.

But a lot more original and heartwarming than that MLK Dream trash for SH. Different teams, I’m told. Figures.

How’s tricks? All bad here, though the latest LTA work on [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] looks promising. Trust the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], hah bloody hah.

Hey! new phone: so don’t have you on WhatsApp. Pm’d you on facebook: I believe I owe you a drink or two 🙂 let me know when you’re free

Cambridge Anal and all that, so no FB. Also, I earn about a sixth of what I once did, so virtually… free… already.

How’s the good old navel? Got mine busted with some of those Live Birth stand-ins.

DDB’s on a creative roll, with Effie’s and now this.
[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]’s exit clearly helped.

Good on Tang and team for the pluck to bounce back after the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] betrayed them. Unheard of locally, but guess that kind of dirty ruthlessness is pedestrian from the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] from.

[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]

Salute you Tang. Yeah. You bounced back. Quick.

No smoke, no fire.

“Dog Eat Dog” is one possible reason for that newb lot’s ruthlessness. Two of the four [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]

Neither creative creds nor work to back them. Shame! Blots on the creatively impeccable Steele & JAB landscape.

In these days of Muslim phobia, I can see why even a ‘positive’ Muslim commercial can go viral BUT it is sad that a half-ass idea gets such plaudits.

You have 5 Singaporean families/companies/individuals do not give two hoots that the delivery guy who brought them their artery-clogging junk is Malay/Muslim and may be suffering through his fasting even though he seems like Mr Marvellous stopping to push a car and offer directions and join his friends during a meal break BUT we are supposed to feel good for the one Singaporean who ‘cared’ to offer a Macs meal to break his fast?

Muslims do not socialise much with their colleagues at meal breaks during fasting months. It’s their way of avoiding awkward situations where colleagues offer them food by mistake.

Companies that employ Muslims don’t overwork their staff during fasting month as a sign of consideration (not evil Mcdonalds who is on a mission to make every Singaporean obese).

And what Singaporeans with Muslim brothers and sisters as friends will know is that Muslims pray before they break their fast. If the old man had say, asked when/how the delivery guy was breaking his fast and would he like something sweet (as is customary) to break his fast (like a drink NOT a Macs meal) it would have been more authentic but Singaporeans, the agency, the creative team simply don’t care which is the bulk of the commercial.

The creative team, the agency and people who appalud without knowing the Muslim ground well should stop patting themselves on their backs.

This is ‘Muslim-washing’ meant to score cheap points without any real insight.

Religion is very nuanced, but I’m commenting because you’ve made some observations on Islam.

While you may be right in saying how some Muslims might want to avoid awkward encounters, some Muslims also don’t join their colleagues for meal times because there’s really no point in joining a food setting when you can’t eat. It’s logic. What some Muslims do is to go to the mosque for Zuhuur prayer. That’s why mosques are extra packed during that time (as compared to non-ramadan period). Here’s a little nugget, we sometimes take a power nap in the mosque as well.

And ramadan is a personal religious obligation. If you’re working as hard as you were during other months, it is a reflection of you as a person. Companies in a secular setting (i.e Singapore) are in no way obliged do anything different. It’s nice when some do (we can leave early here), but when some don’t, why are we imposing our beliefs onto them? We’re all adults here so we should know when and how to pace ourselves this month.

And no, Muslims don’t pray 1st before breaking fast, that’s a gross misrepresentation of Islam and the main reason why i’m commenting. Praying before breaking fast goes against the sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). Go to any mosque during iftar and see for yourself. But you’re right in one thing: we are recommended to break fast with something sweet. It’s both tradition, and helps to get much needed sugar back into the system.

As for the insight of the story, it’s based on Muslim Singaporeans who find themselves still working or stuck in some train delay when the time to break fast comes. When that happens, it’s nice when a fellow Muslim offers sweets or a munch. But when a non-Muslim does it, that gesture becomes extra special. That’s the main crux of the story.

I won’t comment on your thoughts on the details of the story or the brand it’s for, as everyone can tell you have strong opinions on those. But to simply dismiss the effort everyone involved and saying we “don’t care” is a personal affront to me, a Muslim. If you genuinely do want to know more about the spot and why we made some things as it is, please reach out to me. I will be really happy to have coffee with you (after Ramadan of course!).

God bless.

Thanks for replying, Yusoff. Your heart sounds like it is in the right place but I’m sorry, it can’t compensate for the fact that the commercial lacks any real insight despite the accolades. Actually the commercial needs to be discounted more after your explanation.

By your own admission, most Muslims avoid social settings involving food during fasting months. (Good to know they sneak in naps at the mosque.) Which would mean, the Malay delivery guy hanging with his friends while they are having lunch is to demonstrate the insensitivity of Singaporean non-Muslims or to portray our Malay delivery guy as casual cool when he could have say, avoided the moment by stepping into a Mosque during his lunch break? That would have been an authentic moment Muslims would have got behind and would have been a cultural insight for non-Muslims.

By your own admission, your company allows you to leave early. Lucky you, But McDonalds does not offer any consideration to its hardworking Muslim delivery folks during Ramadan? Not even a text that says ‘Break fast time is XX. We thank our muslim staff and wish them a happy meal (pun intended)’ etc? THAT is a do-able thing (still do-able) and would have been a sincere gesture rather than a glossed up commercial. And yes, Macs doing something as simple as that text that would have been picked up by folks online too.

By your own admission, Muslims break their fast with something sweet first before having a proper meal. So the gentleman couldn’t have offered a sweet in keeping with fasting tradition along with the gross Macs meal? Is it cos he is old enough to know it’s breaking fast time but not wise enough to know Muslims need something sweet first? The authentic moment would have negated the gratuitous Macs meal.

I want you to understand that I’m not ‘destroying’ your commercial for any old sake. I want your team and you to realize that you missed a real opportunity to showcase a true Ramadan commercial with real insights.

A Malay/Muslim who goes about his day hard at work while respecting his religious obligations (even a shot of him parking his bike outside a mosque/walking in would have done it), where non-Muslim Singaporeans need not be reminded to avoid topics of food and appreciate the effort involved (did all the other food receipients have to be insensitive save for the one old man?) and gets offered a sweet along with the damn meal would have ticked all the client boxes, taught Singaporeans a thing or two and be rightfully deserving of a pat on the back.

Instead of the usual day-in-the-life-milk-the-moment commercial with branding/products at every opportunity. I’m sure your team, your agency and you are stoked with all the shares but I hope you take this as a moment to reflect (during Ramadan) that what the client buys, what the masses share blindly is not an indication of what could have been better.

Maybe you did have genuine insights. Maybe you just lacked self belief.

Better luck next time. I mean that sincerely.

You’re going into a too-literal intepretation of every scene. You are coming from the assumption that whatever points you brought up were not discussed, and whichever scene options were chosen, or fought over, and eventually in the edit, are not even worthy of consideration because it doesn’t fit “your” version of how the should story should have gone. My offer still stands. You ended your post with “Sincerely”. So if you truly are, get in touch with me. Coffee’s on me. Seriously. Search for “Firrdaus Yusoff” on Linkedin or Facebook. And also, maybe have lookout for the Director’s Cut? You’ll be surprised at the scenes in there. 🙂

I’m not going into literal interpretation of anything but if it helps you justify your ‘us against anyone against our commercial’ narrative, sure go ahead. (Nothing literal about suggesting that McDonalds could consider sending a courtesy text to its Muslim staff, commercial or not.)

My point, if I can summarise, is that hard life of a delivery guy who is fasting could have included certain cultural insights that would have resonated with Muslims and taught non-Muslims a thing or two. Especially the pivotal point of the old man handing over the Macs meal (talk about assuming your view of ‘nutrition’ applies to the world).

If you are suggesting that these points were indeed discussed and the final output is what was fought for, then I’d say let’s agree to disagree on what we consider to be worth fighting for.

I’ll pass on the coffee. Thanks.

They’re faring a lot better with you – Effies, Virals and all.

Start creating world class, envious work, instead of promoting [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Unless you’re closing shop and [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].

You’re just pissed off because [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].

Muslims may not do a full-blown kneel on the floor prayer before breaking fast but they do say a prayer, akin to Grace, before breaking their fast.

A stellar idea should elicit a salute by GLOBAL STARS (two words: Global & Stars), not all and sundry – and without all that long winded rationale above to preempt critical attack.

This is a bland execution, not a big idea. The people who seemingly “Like” it are the same lot who may dig Tanglin or Codes of Lawyers on Mediacorp. They’re not stars, [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. They are guilty of clipping an entire generation’s creative wings in the name of “local”, “culture”, “insight”, etc.

This may get [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].

This is a more original idea and execution than SH’s I Have A Dream. Apologies to all the guys who switched sides in panic, without [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].

Post separation, the good old Alma Mater is racing way ahead like some lethal juggernaut on revenge. Yeah: Effie Maxout. Two McD virals. Charged new teams. Tribal cleaning up almost every pitch they’re shortlisted for.

Those are BIG ones, not crumbs of a larger agency’s budget that get desperately featured in new biz rosters.

Take it easy with the childish PR, you [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].