Cultural Appropriation to Push Alcohol in Sabah and Sarawak
Posted on October 17, 2024 in Carlsberg, Promotion, MalaysiaCarlsberg’s latest campaign in Malaysia, portrayed as a celebration of local icons from Sabah and Sarawak, uses specially designed cans with cultural symbols and an augmented reality (AR) experience to market alcohol to these communities. This strategy is deeply problematic as it targets regions where alcohol harm is already widespread, particularly among ethnic minority groups.
By leveraging the cultural heritage of Sabah and Sarawak’s ethnic minority communities, Carlsberg is not only promoting alcohol but also engaging in cultural appropriation. The campaign uses local icons and cultural symbols to sell alcohol, without regard for the harm alcohol consumption causes in these very communities. This is not about celebrating local pride; it’s about exploiting cultural identity for profit, embedding alcohol into the social fabric of local communities.
Sabah and Sarawak are regions of Malaysia with significant non-Muslim populations, where ethnic minorities make up a large part of the demographic. Unlike Peninsular Malaysia, where Islam is the dominant religion, these regions have a more diverse religious and cultural landscape. This diversity makes Sabah and Sarawak more exposed to alcohol marketing, as alcohol restrictions are less stringent in these areas compared to the largely Muslim mainland.
Promotion, or any marketing strategies, is Big Alcohol’s activity to drive alcohol availability and acceptability, to perpetuate the alcohol norm, and to place alcohol at the center of people’s thoughts and preferences, communities’ practices, and societies’ customs. The focus of this DUBIOUS FIVE strategy is the people and their beliefs about alcohol products, the public and their attitudes about and behavior around alcohol products, and the consumers and how much, how often they buy and consume alcohol brands.