Droga5 Australia has ended its run with a creative triumph – Coaster for Tiger Beer Malaysia is the first film to be conceptualised, crowd-sourced and produced by consumers using beer coasters.
The campaign was used to officially launch Tiger White in Malaysia using Tiger’s It All Starts with White platform, that was unveiled in October. Tiger White, Asia’s wheat beer, was introduced in Malaysia this November. Tiger White’s advertising message is that anybody can create anything they want, if they have the courage to start with a bold, first step.
Droga5’s Coaster project for Tiger White began with a challenge to customers in bars across Malaysia to unleash their creativity and pen their best ideas and plots on beer coasters for the chance to be part of a unique film production.
It resulted in 14 minute movie that premiered in December in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to rave reviews. The film is a suspense thriller that is built around the adventures of a young chef who is asked to cook for the same mobster that murdered his father 18 years prior.
“We are delighted to unveil what is possibly the most revolutionary platform ever used to produce a film. We drafted regular bar hoppers and transformed them overnight into filmmakers, with white beer coasters serving as mini-screenplays, storyboards and entry forms. Malaysian consumers are extremely savvy and creative, and we were excited to launch this contest in such a receptive, dynamic market,” stated Mie-Leng Wong, global brand director at Tiger Beer.
“The production of any film, no matter how big, starts with a clean white page, a blank canvas. This is where creativity begins. At Tiger, we asked ourselves, what would be our beer’s symbolic white page? The coaster, of course,” Wong added.
Here is the film:
David Nobay, creative chairman of Droga5 Australia at the time, commented, “Our teams have spent considerable time in production across Asia, working on Tiger Beer. One thing really came through to us…just how much creativity is alive and kicking on the streets; from Ho Chi Min to Hong Kong and Singapore. From fashion to technology, the region feels even more on fire right now. We were keen to put all that urgency and spontaneity to work across a single creative platform and we’re really pleased how quickly Malaysia grabbed the baton – first with the launch of Tiger White, and now through the debut of the world’s first film to be created on coasters.”
Coaster filmmaking contest took place through October and November when thousands of coasters were distributed around Malaysia’s most popular bars. The coasters served as entry forms. Online entries were also submitted through TigerCoasterFilm.com.
The winning participants were assigned a wide variety of roles including director, scriptwriters, actors, stylists, assistants, and even runners for the production of Coaster.
To amp up the project’s excitement, international director, Baltasar Kormákur, was brought into the project to help guide and mentor the bar hoppers-turned-film crew. Kormákur directed the Hollywood blockbuster, Everest, which opened the Venice International Film Festival earlier this year. It starred Jake Gylenhall and Keira Knightley and was based on real life events, following the travails of mountaineers trapped in a blizzard on Mount Everest.
The winners of the Coaster filmmaking contest came from all walks of life.
Cho We Jun, a banker, was selected as the director of Coaster. “Not long ago I was working in a bank, following a path I didn’t want to take. I’ve made a few films before but none like this. I never imagined working with a director like Baltasar Kormákur to produce a film on this scale.
“The entire crew has been amazing. We come from all walks of life – bankers, engineers, flight attendants – but we all stepped out of our comfort zones and produced something that we are all extremely proud of.”
He has left banking to become a director.
Wong concluded, “We were overwhelmed by the tremendous response to our project. It’s heartening to see that today’s generation isn’t bound by traditional rules and they’re courageous enough to test new experiences. Whether it’s planning the night ahead or pondering someone’s future career – everything starts from a fresh, white slate and the most brilliant ideas or opportunities can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time.”
Follow the whole story of Coaster on its website.
Credits:
Agency: Droga5 Sydney
Creative Chairman: David Nobay
Creative Director: Andy Fergusson
Copywriter: Gavin Chimes
Art Director: Leslie Sharpe
Senior Business Director: Richard Sweetman
Head Of Content: Holly Alexander
Production Company: The Sweet Shop
Director: Cho We Jun
Executive Producers: Wilf Sweetland/Daniel Ho
DoP: Tan Teck Zee
Art Director: Lee Tze Loong
Editor: Pan c/o VHQ Post
Post Production: VHQ Malaysia
Sound Design/Remix: Add Audio Malaysia
