Behind the Work: How Myths and Monsters Get a Cute Twist in a Funny, Folklore-Inspired Baby Campaign from Indonesia
There is a belief in Indonesia that when a baby cries continuously, a monster may come and steal it away. Local diaper brand Sweety Silver Pants has launched a new campaign that puts a contemporary twist on these ancient, well-known myths. Ghoulish monsters have been given a ‘Baby Yoda’ transformation as the campaign urges parents to change their baby’s diapers in a timely manner.
The end result was a collaboration between three markets; Indonesia, the Philippines, and Greater China harnessing the power of BBDO’s capabilities in each area to produce a print campaign comprising of three visuals that play into the folklore belief with the tagline ‘Ganti Sebelum Menghantui’ which translates to ‘Change their diaper before it changes them’. The teams also created a radio campaign with three ads that focus on combining comedy and humour with an element of surprise.
Here, LBB’s Natasha Patel hears more about the campaigns from BBDO Indonesia’s executive creative director, Syeda Ayesha Ikram.
LBB> Why did you choose to use a myth as the basis for this campaign?
Ayesha> Indonesian culture is rich in folklore and myths. But what makes it more beautiful is the unwavering belief set of the people that have kept it colourful and alive for centuries. At a place like this, if prompt audience response is required, blending a crucial consumer issue with a mythological twist can work wonders.
Folklore has been the heartbeat of the Indonesian culture for ages. All their ancient to modern-day art & craft, rituals to religions, outfits to sentiments are all strongly woven with the same thread.
LBB> I like how you combined the myths with comedy to land on the final copy, talk me through the ideas you went through?
Ayesha> Thanks to all the brilliant minds from BBDO Guerrero, BBDO Indonesia, and BBDO Greater China that were working on scratches to the final drafts to refine the ideas. Making them strong, culturally rooted, in line with what the audience is ready to digest. Whether it was myths or comedy to deliver the message.
LBB> There’s a striking visual strand to the campaign in the print and OOH, but the radio too is very playful. Why was an important channel?
Ayesha> To convey the message to the masses here in Indonesia, it had to be a medium that can reach far and wide, providing relevance blended with a bit of humour lightening up the day for the target audience.
LBB> How did you land on the final three campaigns that went live for radio?
Ayesha> The idea was not to bore the audience with similar kinds of scripts and all thanks to the brilliance of BBDO Greater China that kept on pushing for better ways and scenarios that can wow the audiences light-heartedly with a surprise.
LBB> You teamed up with other BBDO offices for this campaign, was this challenging from a cultural perspective? And, also, how did the idea to work together come around?
Ayesha> Not at all. Instead, it was a lot of fun bouncing minute details, having multiple fruitful discussions with network offices as well as the BBDO Asia's Creative Council, all leading to find refinement and making the work better.
LBB> Is this collaboration between the three offices something that you'd do again in the future?
Ayesha> Of course. This is something that adds flavour to creativity. Open minds and enhance the creative juices. It brings belongingness to be part of a bigger cause and network circle that you don’t feel otherwise.
LBB> The print ad images are pretty cute! Why choose these as the final three?
Ayesha> It had to have the cute angle, otherwise, it wouldn’t appeal to mothers. The three mythical creatures that we chose were because of their popularity and fandom. BBDO Guerrero has been fundamental in crafting the little monsters’ composition guide. And then the details managed within the network offices and outside made all the difference.
