The archive · Content & Film · Marketing decision · 2023
Julie's 'Kisah Raya P.E.R.I.T': single mother's secret-shame Raya film wins Golden Kancil
For Hari Raya, Julie's replaced the perfect-family cliche with a single mother's hidden shame, told as a genre-bending film - and won Malaysia's top ad award.
Julie's Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. (Julie's Biscuits)
What it had to solve
Julie's third annual Hari Raya film had to keep the brand's tradition of provocative festive campaigns - spotlighting an uncomfortable topic that Malay-Muslim audiences would talk about - while standing out in Malaysia's busiest advertising season.
How it works
In 2023 Julie's Biscuits, a Malaysian snack brand, had built a following with Hari Raya films that challenged stereotypes. For the third edition the brief was the same: use Malaysia's biggest festive occasion to spotlight an uncomfortable topic and pave the way for positive change - while standing out in the most crowded ad season of the year.
The insight was that every Raya ad shows the perfect nuclear family, but real families look different and Malaysia's rising divorce rate makes single parents the family festive ads never show. With GOVT Singapore, Julie's made 'Kisah Raya P.E.R.I.T', a genre-bending film about single mother Timah and her daughter Farah, who always arrive late for Raya; the twist is that Timah belongs to a secret society of single mothers who plot to cancel Hari Raya rather than face relatives' judgment.
Written as a love letter from daughter to mother, the film mixed comedy and sentiment and launched across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It won the Golden Kancil - Malaysia's top creative award - at the Kancil Awards 2023, and was widely discussed as the Raya film that named a stigma most festive ads ignore.
Why it lands
- Turning a taboo into a genre twist gives people a reason to watch and a reason to talk: the secret-society mechanic made stigma entertaining, not preachy.
- Rooting the film in real conversations with single parents kept the story specific and true, so the humor never crossed into mockery.
- Competing in the busiest festive ad season forced the film to win on insight and craft rather than media weight.
- The mother-daughter love-letter frame made an uncomfortable subject something viewers could share with their own families.
What it did
The film won the Golden Kancil, Malaysia's top creative award, at the Kancil Awards 2023, and sparked national conversation about the stigma single parents face during the festive season.
What you can take
The most crowded ad season is the best time to show the family everyone else leaves out: an insight everyone shares but nobody says out loud carries the whole campaign.
Since then
Kisah Raya P.E.R.I.T became the most honored work of Kancil 2023 and extended Julie's now-established tradition of stereotype-breaking festive films, following 2022's 'Ini Iklan Raya Baru, Tau?'. The brand has continued using Raya films to take on uncomfortable social topics each year.
Sources
- Kisah Raya P.E.R.I.T
- Grey Malaysia Wins Agency of the Year at the Kancil Awards 2023
- Julie's breaks stereotypes about atypical families in new Hari Raya campaign
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