Marjan's Annual Ad

About

Marjan's Annual Ad refers to a series of video ads by Indonesian syrup product Marjan, which only releases their ads in an annual series before entering the month of Ramadan, when Muslims start their fasting until Eid-al Fitr. The ad campaign gained popularity in Indonesia and is known to signify the approach of Ramadan, with many memes relating to it.

Origin

Marjan started their video ad in series in 2010. Their first video showed the daily work of waitresses in Ramadan's month, where they are preparing food for the customers who waiting for iftar time in the restaurant (shown below, left). The latest video in the series (as of 2023) was uploaded on February 25th, 2023 via their YouTube^[1] official channel titled "Baruna Sang Penjaga Samudera" (Eng. Baruna the Ocean Guard). It's about a sea serpent raging because humans littered the sea and ruined his environment. The video received more than 12 million views in three weeks (shown below, right).

Spread

Because of their consistency in only creating ads annually before Ramadan, these ads popularized as a sign Muslims would soon be entering Ramadan's month. For example, on April 2nd, 2015, now-suspended Twitter^[2] user @katuralisme uploaded tweet stating, "Kalau iklan sirup marjan udah mulai.banyak muncul di tivi itu tanda bulan puasa akan segara tiba…." (Eng. If Marjan's ads have been appearing on your TV, it means Ramadan is getting closer) (shown below).

Memes relating to this trope have gained popularity starting in 2022. For example, on March 6th, 2022, Facebook^[3] page "Indoges" uploaded an image using a Doge edit comparing the Marjan's ad then and now, changing the story concept from a slice of life to superhero stories. The post received more than 4,300 reactions and 2,200 shares in one year (shown below).

A few days after the latest ad series premiered, many Indonesians appreciated the graphic quality of it and assumed that Marjan is actually a film studio instead of a syrup product. For example, on February 23rd, 2023, Facebook^[4] page "Kyou Hobby Shop" uploaded an image with text written about Marjan pretending selling syrup products, but actually being a film studio. The post received more than 35,000 reactions and 3,900 shares in three weeks (shown below, left). On February 26th, 2023, Facebook^[5] user Win (authorship unconfirmed) uploaded a Flaming horse rating edit about the ad series from 2021 to 2023 to "Shitmeme untuk Kebutuhan Wibu" group. The post received more than 4,800 reactions and 1,100 shares in three weeks (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References