As part of its ongoing collaboration with Netflix, independent creative agency The Clan Malaysia was recently tasked to launch action blockbuster Extraction 2. However, as popular as Hollywood action movies are in Malaysia, their success isn’t a given. Viewers are now spoilt for choice, and in the last few years there’s been an unprecedented increase in demand for homegrown actioners – with films like Mat Kilau and Paskal outperforming at the box office in this country.
Recognising this as an opportunity, The Clan created a bespoke campaign that would reframe the movie’s premise and performers in a way that was literally closer to home. All to give viewers here the thrill of a localised extraction mission.
One of Extraction 2’s most crucial scenes features the heroes breaking out from a dangerous prison. That scene provided a highly relevant connection to Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Pudu Prison. The agency discovered through research that in over 100 years of its history, no one had ever escaped from Pudu Prison. Even though all that remains of the prison today are the front gates, this still made it the ideal setting for Netflix to tell a wholly Malaysian story: #PuduExtraction.
The next step was to assemble a cast that audiences here care about, so The Clan signed on popular action stars Aaron Aziz, Iedil Dzuhrie, and Fify Azmi. The kicker was getting A-lister Chris Hemsworth and director Sam Hargrave to participate in the campaign, culminating in their apperance at a talent tour in Manila with Aziz and Dzuhrie, as well as a short film, creating a truly unique global-meets-local moment.
The Clan’s Executive Creative Director, Yow Kuan Wai, said: “Any chance to do fight scenes and explosions is awesome enough. Then to have Chris Hemsworth be part of our project? That’s nuts. But we didn’t try to outdo Hollywood because that’d be futile. Instead, we designed this campaign from the ground up to be hyper-local, from the crowd-pleasing cast, to the historic setting, to the cultural elements, right down to the gags only Malaysians would get.”
Co-Founder and Creative Chief of The Clan, Casey Loh, added: “To us, the making of this short film was a little like the oner sequence in Extraction 2: action-packed, full of surprises, and meticulously choreographed between client and agency. Having worked with so many talented individuals on this project, I secretly wish someone would start a GoFundMe and get this made into a full-length feature.”
So far, the PuduExtraction short film has exceeded 14.6 million views on TikTok alone, while amassing over 19.5 million impressions across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Total engagement numbers have amounted to more than 193,000 likes, comments, and shares. The campaign has even taken on a life of its own, inspiring numerous fan edits, and seeing growing calls online to get the actors their own spin-off.
Credits
Creative Agency: The Clan Malaysia
Business Chief/CoFounder: Syed Nasir
Creative Chief/Co-Founder: Casey Loh
Executive Creative Director: Wai
Film Director: Syed Madnuh
General Manager: Sandra Heung
Senior Art Director: Afiq Marzuki
Junior Art Director: Fairiz Rahim
Senior Copywriter: Teh Sue May
Copywriters: Farid Rahim, Emily Jo Chen
Designers: Umar Jindan, Nur Khalisah, Areyna
Associate Account Director: Megan Janz
Senior Account Manager: Aliff Shariff
Film & Post Production: Astatica
Executive Producer: Daniel Kwan
Production Manager: Andy Black Tan
Director of Photography: Selvaraju
Camera Operator: King Wu
Art Director: Yong
First assistant Director: Jeremy Zainal
Stunt Director: Ng Shu Mun
Offline Editor & Color Artist: Engku Ehsan
Flame Artist: Leong Wai Woh
3D Artist: Oras
Audio Production: Real Time Studios
Executive Producer: Jennifer Yiew
Sound Supervisor: Dennis See
Sound Engineer: Terry Ezekiel
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