Aside from online roadtax renewals, MyEG provides a whole range of services. These include checking and payment of Royal Malaysian Police and Road & Transport Department summonses, renewal of maid permits, payment of assessments and licenses for Kuala Lumpur City Hall, insolvency status checks, replacement of MyKad identity cards, renewal of drivers licenses and more.
When the client gave us a brief to promote all these services in a 1-minute TV commercial, it presented us with a dilemma. We asked ourselves some difficult questions: How would we tell this very complicated message in a short TVC and still generate enough interest and recall? How would our ad cut through the clutter of TV commercials on the tube? How do we ensure adequate mention of MyEG’s services without convoluting the takeout?
The result was “Internet Ah Moi”. The story would depict a typical Malaysian scene – an enterprising young lady who runs MyEG services from her family’s coffee shop, and an over-eager customer more smitten by the lady than her services, under humourous circumstances.
Director Stephen Tan’s treatment for the commercial would be heavily influenced by P. Ramlee comedies in the 60s, from the set, to the styling and the music. But the film worked due to the cast. The client’s decision in signing Sarah Lian gave us the ideal lead for Ah Moi, while Bob, who plays the amorous customer, resonated the comedy stars of the 60s.
The TVC was well received, judging by a majority of positive sentiments on Twitter, with many Twitterers heaping praises for the two leads. The commercial also warranted a write-up in The Star, Malaysia’s leading daily, reporting it as an internet hit, and referring to Sarah Lian as Ah Moi.
Towards the end of the year months after the ad premiered on TV, the public faced technical difficulty in paying for summonses due to the Royal Malaysian Police’s server downtime. In response to the situation an editorial cartoon appeared depicting the scene from “Internet Ah Moi”.
Ah Moi had made an impact.
