After more than a year of repeated lockdowns in Malaysia that left thousands of Malaysians without work, money, or food, white flags were used by families struggling in the pandemic as a media to express their distress.

Flags of Generosity was created in response to this crisis, using flags in our brand colour for people to express their desire to help. Through this media, we rallied Malaysians to rise up to give aid — proving that there is truth to our brand belief: there’s generosity in everyone.

Between 18 March 2020 to 31 December 2021, Malaysia went through a series of strict lockdowns which saw all non-essential businesses shut down, and citizens confined to a 10km radius of their homes.

As a result, thousands of families were left without work, money, or food. As Covid-19 and hunger spread, white flags started appearing across the country. The flags — sometimes little more than T-shirts or strips of cloth — were a cry for help from low-income families who were financially affected by the long coronavirus pandemic.

As a brand that stands for generosity, Cadbury had to step up to find a solution to help.

As a brand that believes that there is generosity in everyone, we wanted to prove that in Malaysia, where low-income families were in dire need of aid, people would unleash their generosity.

As white flags became a symbol for those who needed help in Malaysia, we created flags in Cadbury Dairy Milk’s iconic shade of purple for those who wanted to help.

We gave them away on-ground and in supermarkets, so people who would like to help could fly a purple flag to signify they had extra food and supplies to give.

Donations were then collected from the households with purple flags, and passed on to needy families with white flags.

Through the use of a simple purple flag, we managed to rally people during a lockdown to distribute essentials from those who wanted to help, to the people who needed it.

We knew that our brand belief was true: that there is generosity and kindness in everyone. We just had to find it.

While white flags identified those who needed help, our strategy, then, was to seek out and identify the generous in the community using purple flags. So we could collect food and donations from these households, and distribute them to low-income families flying the white flag.

We distributed purple flags through our on-ground partners: in supermarkets, convenience stores, and mom-and-pop shops in affluent areas. Point-of-sale materials let people know that they could fly purple flags outside their homes if they had extra food and supplies to donate.

For those unable to get their hands on a physical purple flag, they could also visit a website and pin a virtual flag by entering their address.

Donations were then collected from the households with purple flags, and passed on to needy families with white flags.

By simply creating a flag in our brand colours, we were able to activate and rally people during a lockdown — delivering essential aid in the most efficient way.

The campaign made Malaysians show their true colours. With zero media spending, we reached over 260 million people. Thousands flew the purple flag and came forward to help, with over 600% increase in donations. 2,078 families flying the white flag received aid.

The campaign was designed for Malaysia and works only in Malaysia, where a nationwide lockdown to curb a coronavirus surge left thousands of families running out of money and food. White flags were raised outside homes as a symbol of desperation and distress.

In response to this unique crisis, we created purple flags for those who wanted to help and to be easily identified — so we could deliver essential aid efficiently from households with purple flags to families flying white flags.