TikTok recently hosted the first TikTok Ad Awards ceremony in Malaysia, recognising outstanding brands and marketers who have crafted standout campaigns on the platform.

Launched in February, the TikTok Ad Awards this year marks the first Southeast Asia (SEA) instalment of the ceremony, spanning six markets in the region: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The TikTok Ad Awards 2024 spotlights creatives and provides a platform for them to showcase campaigns that are reshaping the marketing landscape. With the awards, we aim to honour and highlight these industry trailblazers for their contributions to the industry. For our inaugural award, we received 112 submissions from brands and agencies in Malaysia across four categories: Best Branding Campaign, Best Commerce Campaign, Best Performance Campaign, and Best Local Hero Campaign.

At TikTok, we are committed to nurturing authenticity and sparking passion and innovation within our community, and enabling Malaysian businesses, big or small, to enjoy greater opportunities to build and expand. By shifting from one-way communication to interactive engagement, we strive to offer brands and marketers opportunities to cultivate creativity on a global scale. Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding work in creating captivating content on TikTok, and we look forward to helping you drive a greater impact on your business and your audience," said Patricia Goh, Country Lead, Brand Partnerships, Singapore & Malaysia, at TikTok.

The Best Branding Campaign award went to McDonald's Malaysia's #McDDoDaDip Chicken McNuggets campaign, which captivated Gen Z's in Malaysia by leveraging on TikTok trends, particularly finger dance, to drive brand power among a generation that values unique experiences and personalisation.

Meanwhile, Zoo Berry, a local snack brand, won Best Commerce Campaign, after leveraging TikTok's diverse user base to amplify their reach and increase product sales through TikTok Shop, effectively utilizing the platform's potential for business growth. As for Best Performance Campaign, CelcomDigi Fibre won the Gold Award, having overcome low public awareness and conversion, leveraging TikTok's broad reach and targeting capabilities, and offering a solution to penetrate a well-established market dominated by its competitors.

Finally, for our Best Local Hero Campaign, Malaysian cosmetics brand Elianto transformed its business, driving online purchases and optimizing returns on ad spend (ROAS) for cosmetic beauty products with its series of shopping ads. With an effective strategy centered on crafting engaging video content, posting regular updates, live streaming ads, and promotional campaigns, Elianto proved that a well-executed content marketing strategy on TikTok can significantly enhance brand visibility and performance in a competitive beauty industry.

"What was really interesting was to see how strong the Malaysian SME ecosystem is when it comes to driving e-commerce and performance campaigns, and also the larger advertisers which focus on the upper funnel. I was amazed at how much the TikTok platform has evolved and how advertisers are leveraging it," said Eileen Ooi, CEO of Omnicom Media Group and President of Malaysian Digital Association.

To view the full list of winners, please visit this page.