Kopi Susu, a rich blend of condensed milk and black coffee, has been a beloved Malaysian coffee drink for generations. It’s so popular, that even our legendary First National Songstress (Biduanita Negara), the late Puan Sri Saloma, sang about the beloved drink in her classic 1959 hit “Kopi Susu”, weaving its way into Malaysian culture and consciousness.

Fast forward to 2023: McCafé launched its own take on kopi susu to appeal to the Malaysian palate. The tough catch? Kopi Susu is sold in practically every kopitiam (traditional local café) in the country.

How might McCafé encourage Malaysians, particularly the younger crowd, to try out its fresh spin on this classic hit drink?

We brought Saloma back using AI voice generation technology and her archives (with permission from her family) to sing Vibe Kopi Susu, a refreshed version of her classic hit, together with rapper-producer SonaOne and influential singer-actress Daiyan Trisha. Blending traditional and modern flavours in perfect harmony: just like every cup of McCafé Kopi Susu! Vibe Kopi Susu was launched on Spotify, leading radio stations, as well as on YouTube with an accompanying music video.

The soulful tune brings Malaysians together to not only pay homage to our legendary local singer and coffee, but to also celebrate our love and pride for our ‘mengopi’ (‘let’s sit over a cup of coffee’) culture, best enjoyed with a perfect cup of McCafé Kopi Susu.

Seventy-five percent of McCafé Malaysia’s desired audience were Gen-Zs or Millennials (ages 18-44). Music is a shared passion point, with the audience rediscovering their love for local music in recent years, from nostalgic hits from the likes of Saloma, to contemporary pop icons like rapper SonaOne and influencers-turned-singers like Daiyan Trisha. It’s no surprise then, that music and video streaming platforms dominate in Malaysia, with YouTube having an even higher penetration than social media sites, with “Songs” and “Lagu” (song in Malay) being amongst the top searches on YouTube in the country.

We knew to stand out as a new player in the Kopi Susu game in a music-loving country, a straightforward product ad just wouldn’t cut it.

We launched Vibe Kopi Susu, a fresh spin of the late Saloma’s classic 1959 hit Kopi Susu, with refreshed McCafé Kopi Susu–inspired lyrics and melody. We employed a combination of generative AI voice and tune modulation technology as well as Saloma’s archive tracks (with permission from her estate) to “bring her back” to sing this refreshed hit with rapper-producer SonaOne and influential singer-actress Daiyan Trisha. The song was released on Spotify as well as leading radio stations like HotFM. We also released a music video on YouTube, which, like the song, blended traditional and modern tastes through in perfect harmony through its styling and set design.

To drive further trial, we also treated Malaysians to a ‘mengopi’ session with McCafé Kopi Susu with our first McCafé Truck, which toured key locations, complimented by ‘Vibe Kopi Susu’ to amplify the ‘mengopi’ vibes.

The campaign achieved impressive results, despite the McDonald’s Malaysia Israeli-Palestinian war boycott starting mid-October:

1. Highest-ever Kopi Susu McCafé sales per-store-per-day (PSPD), at +86% higher vs. launch.

2. More than +350,000 cups of McCafé coffee consumed

3. 6.7 mil views (amongst the highest ever for a McCafé Malaysia campaign) with +200bps increase in absolute lift for Awareness on YouTube

4. About 1 mil Unique Reach on Spotify (and counting!) with 50% listeners from Gen Z.