In 2026, the Malaysian festive advertising space reached a saturation point. With every brand competing for the same "Raya spirit," consumers are becoming more selective about which messages they internalize and which they ignore.
For marketers, the post-campaign period is the most critical time to validate if a creative investment actually moved the needle on trust and purchase intent. We analyzed how Malaysians reacted to select 2026 Raya creatives (masked so that brands were not visible and audio was muted) to identify what truly drives brand recall and loyalty.
Here's What We'll Cover:
About This Study
This analysis is based on 420 Malaysian respondents collected over 3 days
- Total sample size: 420 Malaysian respondents
- Fieldwork period: Responses collected in 3 days
- Methodology: Online survey via Vase.ai’s proprietary panel
- Total survey questions: 29
This article highlights exactly 5 insights. The full dataset, including specific state-level breakdowns and all 29 question responses, is available in our interactive dashboard.
đź”’ Explore the Full Dataset
Planners and strategists need more than a summary. Our interactive dashboard allows you to segment this data by gender, race, and region. You can see how your specific target audience reacted to these campaigns.
- Unaided recall word clouds.
- Changes in brand trust (after viewing Raya ads) for five major Malaysian brands.
Note: The dashboard is best viewed on laptop or desktop.
1. Insight 1: PETRONAS Maintains Dominant Unaided Recall
🗣️ What consumers said:
“Impressive especially PETRONAS really did well”
Female, 21, Malay, Selangor
đź“Š What the data shows
Our data shows that PETRONAS remains the gold standard for festive advertising recall in Malaysia. When asked which brands they recall seeing Raya ads from in the past month, 22% mentioned PETRONAS. This is significantly higher than Shopee (8%), Watsons (5%) and TNB (5%).
🧠Why this matters to marketers
Recall is not just about spend. It is about creative stickiness. PETRONAS has established a multi-decade expectation for storytelling. This allows them to own the mental shelf space of Malaysian consumers before a single ad even airs.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Monday Morning Action: Check your brand’s logo presence in the first 3 seconds of your social video assets. PETRONAS' 49% correct brand linkage shows that even legends face misattribution.
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3-Month Strategy: Audit your brand character. Develop a recurring story world or a set of consistent brand characters to use across all major festive windows to build long-term mental availability.
2. Insight 2: Innovation Through Genre-Bending Drives Brand Interest
🗣️ What consumers said:
“Most of the ads choose the emotional and heartwarming route but non-conventional (i.e. julies) stand out the most”
Male, 32, Malay, Kuala Lumpur
đź“Š What the data shows
We found that Julie’s Biscuits successfully broke through creative fatigue by using non-traditional themes. 38% of respondents rated the Julie’s Biscuits "Memory Storage Centre" ad as the most innovative of the five tested campaigns.
🧠Why this matters to marketers
There is a common assumption that Raya ads must be strictly traditional. However, our data suggests that Malaysians are open to genre-bending as long as the core emotional message remains relatable. Julie's used a sci-fi metaphor to address Alzheimer’s awareness.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Monday Morning Action: Review the verbatim comments in our dashboard to identify the specific plot twists Julie's fans loved. Use these as inspiration to build your next creative storyboard.
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3-Month Strategy: Design a high-concept "risk" campaign for the next major retail window. Layer a fresh narrative device (like sci-fi or a visual metaphor) on top of a core emotional truth.
3. Insight 3: Sincerity Is the Primary Driver of Trust for Financial Institutions
🗣️ What consumers said:
“RHB advertisement win people heart”
Male, 28, Malay, Johor
đź“Š What the data shows
We found a high correlation between perceived sincerity and trust growth. For the RHB Bank "Buku Jalanan Chow Kit" ad, 57% of the total sample reported an increased level of trust in the brand after watching, with 14% stating a significantly increased level of trust (the remaining 43% stated a somewhat increased level of trust).
RHB successfully bridged the "sincerity gap" that often plagues corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns. Our data shows that 63% of respondents felt the brand was genuine in its attempt to highlight inclusive education, even while acknowledging the content was an advertisement. This high sincerity level directly converted into a trust lift that surpassed brands with much higher prior recall or "glam" production values.
🧠Why this matters to marketers
For banks, trust is the primary product. Our data shows that when a brand supports a specific, recognizable community project, consumers are more likely to shift their trust metrics upward compared to generic festive greetings.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Monday Morning Action: Publish a "Proof of Impact" clip on your social channels today. Show the actual results or the real people behind your brand promise to satisfy the 10% of skeptics who demand proof.
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3-Month Strategy: Partner with a specific local project early in the year. Ensure your campaign has a multi-month track record of support so that your festive message feels earned rather than opportunistic.
4. Insight 4: High-Energy Entertainment Directly Correlates to Shopping Intent
🗣️ What consumers said:
“Surprisingly, the Watson ads give more raya festive vibe than other ads. The others are all too heavily focused on making emotional short film."
Female, 28, Malay, Selangor
đź“Š What the data shows
While emotional ads win on "tears", high-energy ads win on transactions. 33% of respondents said that Watsons' high-energy, "glam" musical approach made the brand feel fun and relevant. This directly influenced their reported likelihood to shop there this week, with 54% intending to visit online or in-store the following week.
This likelihood reduces to 38% among those who did not enjoy the high-energy ads. *The name and brand recognition of Watsons likely plays a role in the willingness for immediate online or in-store visits.
🧠Why this matters to marketers
Our data shows you do not always need to make consumers cry to win Raya. Entertainment value and "vibe" are powerful drivers for retail brands where the goal is immediate footfall and digital traffic.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Monday Morning Action: Review your CTRs for "Glam/High-Energy" vs. "Emotional" video assets from the last 30 days to see which actually drove clicks.
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Monday Morning Action: Reshare your high-energy campaign assets on Instagram Stories with a direct link to your promo page. High energy drives relevance for 1 in 3 consumers.
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3-Month Strategy: A/B test "Emotional Storytelling" vs "High-Energy Entertainment" on your paid social channels. Measure which style drives a lower Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) for your specific audience.
5. Insight 5: McDonald's Charity Focus Protects Brand Loyalty
🗣️ What consumers said:
“McDonalds however is doing good having a charity house."
Female, 25, Malay, Johor
đź“Š What the data shows
Our data shows that 40% of respondents are likely to purchase from McDonald's this week. While discounts are important, 37% of respondents stated they value the brand's community impact through the Ronald McDonald House Charity (RMHC) as much as or more than food discounts (19% value charity as much as food discount and 18% value charity more than food discounts).
🧠Why this matters to marketers
Purpose-led messaging acts as an emotional buffer. For the 14% of respondents who say "food deals get me in the door, but knowing they support charity makes me feel better about eating there," the charity focus justifies their repeat purchase behavior.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Monday Morning Action: Add your chosen charity logo and a brief impact sentence to your social media today.
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3-Month Strategy: Integrate "Value + Purpose" in a single creative unit. Feature your community impact alongside a clear reason to visit (like a seasonal menu item) to bridge the gap between connection and conversion.
Quick Q&A: 2026 Raya Advertising Trends
đź”’ Explore the Dashboard for Deeper Insights
Want to explore every question and chart in detail?
This dashboard is based on Vase.ai’s survey of 420 Malaysians, collected in 3 days.
Note: The dashboard is best viewed on laptop or desktop.
Ready to turn these insights into action?
Apply these findings to your next media strategy and see how a data-driven, audience-first approach can elevate engagement. Whether you’re planning content campaigns, designing cross-platform experiences, or refining messaging for different audiences, Vase.ai helps you test and validate your strategy with real-time feedback before launch.