English · 2 min 40 sec
A blue aircraft. A letter that people read the wrong way. Two states in the wrong places on a map. This FindingOut video revisits three moments when a corporate message attracted attention for reasons its creators had probably not intended.
AirAsia, iQIYI and Proton are familiar names in Malaysia. These stories happened in different years and circumstances, but each offers a small window into the relationship between brands, national identity and the public.
AirAsia: when the red airline went blue
May 2018. During Malaysia’s 14th general election campaign, an AirAsia aircraft appeared in blue with the slogan “Hebatkan Negaraku”, associated with Barisan Nasional’s campaign. For a brand so closely identified with red, the change was hard to miss.
After the election, Tony Fernandes apologised in a video released on 13 May. He said that political pressure had influenced his decisions and that he regretted his judgement. That explanation is his account of what happened. The episode is a reminder of how quickly a company’s public image can become entangled with politics. Read the contemporary report and his response.
iQIYI: one letter, a very different reading
September 2020. Streaming platform iQIYI’s Anak Malaysia campaign celebrated Malaysian and international films around Malaysia Day. The phrase means “child of Malaysia”, but the stylised letter K in its promotional design was easy to misread.
Online jokes followed. iQIYI removed the poster, clarified the intended wording and apologised for the confusion, responding with humour of its own. It is a compact lesson in design: a word can be obvious to the team that created it and much less obvious to everyone seeing it for the first time. Read the report and iQIYI’s response.
Proton: Sabah and Sarawak swap places
June 2024. Proton unveiled its new electric-vehicle brand, e.MAS, on 12 June. During the presentation, the labels for Sabah and Sarawak were placed in each other’s positions on a map. Both states are in Malaysian Borneo, and the mistake quickly drew criticism.
Proton apologised the following day, acknowledged the mislabelling and said it would take greater care. The incident occurred at the e.MAS brand unveiling; the video is revisiting that presentation, rather than reviewing the e.MAS 7 car. Proton’s original brand announcement and the report on its apology provide the background.
Small details can become the whole story.
A colour, a letter or a label may be a tiny part of a campaign. Once the public notices it, that detail can become the part everyone remembers.
For another look at brands woven into daily Malaysian life, explore Three Super Apps That Run Malaysia.
This is a light-hearted look back at reported events, not a current product review. The video uses AI narration and illustrative title cards alongside source material. Its description includes the full footage and image credits.
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