‘Naked’ nasi lemak exposes Malaysia Airlines

By P. Gunasegaram

When your business depends on exposure – of the right type – you better be sure it’s of the right type. It was hardly that when a chef derided Malaysia Airlines’ nasi lemak offering in the air. Tiger, its curiosity piqued, took it upon itself to look at the airline’s branding and does not like what it saw.

Not since a home-made video by a Malaysia Airlines steward having his way with some stewardesses over a decade ago has the national carrier attracted so much attention as when Chef Wan (full name Redzuawan Ismail) posted a picture of  the nasi lemak he was served on a flight of the national airline.

The popular chef lamented what he called was nasi lemak telanjang (nude), denuded of the usual fried peanuts, anchovies, sliced cucumber or kangkung. All Malaysia Airlines’ corporate problems and its losses amounting to billions upon billions of ringgit did not attract as much attention as this episode.

Malaysiakini reported that “Malaysians take their nasi lemak seriously. So much so, in fact, that the act of a celebrity chef in uploading a picture of a rather bare looking nasi lemak served onboard a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight, has struck a chord with many.

“He uploaded the picture on social site Instagram, which showed a box of nasi lemak with half a boiled egg cutting a lonely figure on top, and devoid of the customary sliced cucumbers, fried nuts and anchovies.”

Nevermind that MAS is undercutting fares, reducing its yield (the return on its available seats multiplied by kilometres flown, a measure of pricing) even as it fills up its planes to unheard of levels in terms of load factor (a measure of capacity utilisation), as explained here.

Nevermind that it continues to lose money as it persists with this insane pursuit of loading up the planes cheaply, charging fares often lower than those of budget airlines. Nevermind that it cuts corners as a full service airline to satisfy this insatiable craving for better capacity utilisation.

But why, oh why, do you have to scrimp and save and do something so sacrilegious as to heap insult and injury upon one of our national dishes loved by one and all Malaysians, yes the humble nasi lemak? How can you serve Malaysia Airlines’ customers a “naked” nasi lemak when no one down on terra firma would dream of doing that?

Would that not result in a further plummeting of your already declining stature among Malaysians  – the ones I dare say support the airline more than anyone else – who are fed-up of numerous failed attempts to revive an airline which has been noted around the world for its great food and hospitable cabin service?

Are we now witnessing even this decline of competitive advantage the national airline, about seven-tenths owned by the government through Khazanah Nasional, held for many years as the latest airline reviews in Skytrax shows? (Skytrax is an authoritative airline review service which in 2013 awarded Malaysia Airlines 5-star airline status, one of a handful or so in the world. It has won this award numerous times in the past.)

There is simply no excuse for Malaysia Airlines to serve of all things sub-standard nasi lemak on its flights. It is so easy to make, its so Malaysian, and ensuring that it is tasty and comes with all the trimmings will really cost very little, if the contracting process is done well, efficiently and openly. Twenty-year contracts for catering won’t cut it.

Which brings us to branding. We Tigers are known as lithe, graceful and beautiful. Centuries of reputation preceded this. And true to form we have maintained our reputation through thick and thin simply by being what we are – lithe, graceful, beautiful and might I add powerful too.

And that’s what is important about branding. You have to live what you brand, otherwise it’s so much seladang s*#t. And people will discover that soon enough. And then your are dead.

What is Malaysia Airlines’ brand? Its about great cabin service, wonderful hospitality, efficient on time service (believe it or not it is), new (recently that is) planes, and yes great food, all at a very reasonable price – not depressed prices mind you. A 5-star airline must be able to charge reasonable prices if not 5-star prices, not discount prices.

But what is Malaysia Airlines branding? It unveiled a series of new, artsy advertisements or ads not so long ago, but the message about Malaysia Airlines was lost. Just look at its tagline “Journeys are made by the people you travel with.” Nice right? Perhaps but what is the message about Malaysia Airlines?

View the ad yourself here and tell Tiger if you can what it is about Malaysia Airlines that this artsy, heart-tugging, slick and well-shot ad tells about why you should be flying Malaysia Airlines? What kind of an exposure does it give it the airline?

This must have been an expensive ad, conceived by no less than the firm of Ogilvy and Mather and shot by Stink director Andy Fogwill, a person who has won numerous awards. But again what is the message?

Here’s an anonymous comment on the ad that Tiger located: “Pretty, but this could be for any airline. What does it tell me about the Malaysia Airlines brand? Aren’t they all about Malaysian hospitality or something? Surely I’d rather take my special someone and our 1950s style suitcases (unrealistically light, might I add) on SIA or Qatar? Classic ad strategy devoid of brand strategy…”

Exactly Tiger’s sentiments.

Here is David Ogilvy’s own definition of a brand: The intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.

But where, oh where is any of this in the advertisement that Ogilvy and Mather conceived for Malaysia Airlines?

Look at these two ads here and here from Emirates, the world’s fastest growing airline. Look at how specific it is. Note the strong branding. Note why you need to fly Emirates.

Now go back to the Malaysia Airlines ad and look at branding.  How many times is Malaysia Airlines mentioned? Not once!! Do you see the insides or outsides of a plane? No, not even a stewardess!! How long do you see a Malaysia Airlines logo in the 120-second ad? Perhaps 1-2 seconds!!!

Branding is not taking place in this ad. Let Tiger round off with another quote from David Ogilvy: In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.

Does that ad sell Malaysia Airlines? Tiger says NOOOO! I bet you will agree too once you have seen the ad.

GRRRRR!!