Did you watch the latest New Straits Times advertisement on TV? The one with the schoolboys on a public bus and a Caucasian woman asking for directions to the National Monument? My sister and I saw it on TV3 and when one boy in the ad blurted out the sentence, 'You don't belok-belok', we burst out laughing.
That sure was one funny ad! And a really good one too. Here's a 'summary' of the ad:
1. A group of rowdy schoolboys board a public bus and sit at the back.
2. They start teasing another boy who was reading an NST newspaper.
3. A Caucasian woman comes up the bus. The naughty boys notice her and wolf-whistle at her.
4. She smiles at them, approaches them and asks, 'Can you tell me how to go to the National Monument?' Something like that.
5. The boys look confused and start asking each other about what the National Monument is.
6. In the end, one boy answered the woman, 'You straight...You don't belok-belok.'
7. It's the woman's turn to look confused now. She was like raising her eyebrows and was like 'What??'
8. The poor boy continued saying, 'You don't belok-belok! Straight saja.'
9. Then, the hero aka The Boy Who Was Bullied For Reading NST told the woman, 'I can help you. You get down 3 stops from here and follow the signboard.' Something like that.
10. The woman looks relieved and says, 'Thank you. You've been really helpful.'
11. The naughty boys look embarrassed. The smart boy smugly advises them to read NST and gives them his copy.
~~~~~End of the advertisement~~~~~
Book Review: Mercy's Chase by Jess Lourey
2 hours ago
It is not a funny ad. I find it rather idiotic and an insult to the intelligence of the rakyat.
ReplyDeleteIt is an attempt by the govt controlled newspaper to attract more readership after the sales of the newspaper has been dwindling when ppl realised that its reports are biased and not true.
read NST and become an idiot!
Whoa! I totally see your point. I did think for a while that it might be quite insulting but what occurred in the ad is really happening in real life, right here in our country.
ReplyDeleteNST, The Star, Berita Harian, Utusan, The Sun, etc...they're newspapers. They provide news. There's no harm in reading them. Who gains in the end? Us? Probably.
Yes, I agree with pandankia and josette. This ad shows that as if by reading NST or other newspapers, one can easily get a job. Bullshit!
ReplyDeleteIt's not by reading you can easily get a job. If one reads a lot, he/she gains knowledge.
This ad shows that the copy-writers or those behind the ad have a low class mentality. What a shame!