TM wanted to connect with Chinese audiences in celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year. As a tech-first company, TM also wanted to do so through the use of technology. We needed to find an innovative way to do this while driving brand awareness.

It’s not easy being Chinese in Malaysia. Due to the pressure of constantly being compared to a higher standard and the expectation to succeed by older relatives, Chinese New Year is an occasion most Chinese Malaysians actually dread facing. Chinese New Year 2023 was especially dreaded after the tough economic year Malaysians were challenged with the year before. They had ‘méi yǒu liǎn’ which translates to ‘no courage to face’ Chinese New Year. We wanted to give them that courage. So we created ‘Faces of Courage,’ an AR experience inspired by the forgotten art of Chinese Opera. All 8 of our wearable filters represented an uplifting attitude, revived a forgotten Chinese New Year tradition and most importantly – gave Malaysians the courage needed to face their families with confidence.

Our AR filters were designed after key roles in Chinese Opera as well as the values they represent - Blue Jing (face of wisdom), Chou (face of humour), Dan (face of positivity), Sheng (face of peace), Yellow Jing (face of strength) and Purple Jing (face of curiosity). We captured the beautiful intricacy of real-life Chinese Opera signers by mirroring them in the detailed design of our AR filters. Each AR filter also brought to life the feeling of the value they represented through dramatic colour tones, facial expressions and elaborate costume designs.