The two-minute Leo Burnett spot features a group of Malaysian youth out on the town. They dress, act and mimic rappers, including their greeting terms, "yo, yo, yo" and "wassup". When the boys meet a group of attractive girls they even exchange their names for rapper monikers - 'Muthusamy Karupiah' becomes 'Sam'. But the act comes to an embarrassing end when one of the youth, 'Big D', crosses paths with his very traditional grandmother.
Embarrassed, he rushes the conversation with Grandma Patti, who, oblivious to his awkwardness, passes him a traditional Indian delicacy and reminds the group of who they really are. The spot ends with the tagline: 'The world's changing but we will always be proud of who we are'.
Christie Herman, the agency's Indian copywriter, developed the script.
David Mitchell, director of brand management at Leo Burnett, said: "Christie is about 39 and was exactly like this when he was young. There are a lot of young people who like to imitate the West and this (TVC) was based on that insight.
"The youth can be ashamed of their heritage at this age, and what we are really saying is that it's OK to be Malaysian. The message is that regardless of the developments that have taken place, what makes us who we are the values we have."
Petronas, which won the Client of the Year prize at this month's Kancil Awards, airs a number of community-specific TVCs each year to celebrate religious and cultural festivals. The initiatives are part of its efforts to position itself as a Malaysian company, which understands local issues.
"This is part of an ongoing campaign that began in 1996 to position Petronas as Malaysian. We cover all the major festivals and have four big campaigns a year," said Mitchell. Yasmin Ahmed, Burnett Malaysia ECD, said: "They used to be seen as big and cold, now they're seen as a national hero. This was discovered through the client's own research."