Juice or banking? Boost uses humour to own the confusion

Malaysian digital bank and fintech platform Boost, is leaning directly into one of the country’s longest-running brand confusions in its latest campaign, reminding Malaysians that it is in the business of banking, not juicing.

Built around the familiar response of “Which Boost? The eWallet or juice?”, the campaign sees the fintech and digital banking player embrace the mix-up many Malaysians have jokingly made for years due to the similarity between its name and juice chain Boost Juice.

Rather than avoiding the comparison, Boost has turned it into the centrepiece of a witty new brand-building push designed to sharpen awareness around its evolution from an eWallet into a broader fintech and digital banking ecosystem.

Diana Boo, chief marketing officer at Boost, said the campaign stems from a very real everyday experience shared by both employees and consumers alike.

“This campaign is built around a very real Malaysian experience: whenever someone says they work at Boost, the response is usually, ‘which Boost? The eWallet or juice?’” she said.

Rather than running away from that conversation, we decided to lean into it.

Boo explained that since launching in 2017, Boost has expanded far beyond its original eWallet proposition into payments, financing and digital banking, including the launch of Boost Bank, Malaysia’s first homegrown digital bank.

"At its heart, the campaign uses humour and relatable everyday moments to remind Malaysians that Boost today is about banking, payments, financing and financial solutions, not just what people first knew us for years ago," she said. 

Don't miss: 13 Raya packets that brought more than just duit this 2026 

Central to the campaign is a brand video, which starts off on the premise of being "just another iklan" (just another ad). A character appears on screen, speaking from within the Boost App, explaining how he works in a bank, but keeps receiving weird requests for smoothies and juices. Including "seedless banana juice" and "rambutan with extra skin". 

The character turns back to viewers to ask: "Do I look like a juice seller? No, right?" He proceeds to explain further while doing humorous bits, that Boost is a bank, and a damn good one at that. 

The campaign is rolling out in phases, beginning with a digital-led push spanning social media, digital placements and out-of-home advertising designed to spark online conversations and reinforce top-of-mind awareness.

Rather than positioning it as a jab against another brand, Boo reiterated that this was more about addressing a real perception challenge. "Instead of pretending those conversations don’t exist, we decided to have a little fun with it while reinforcing who Boost is today: we are a banking group."

Created together with creative and social agency Kaki Sosial, part of the Ballsy Group, the idea reportedly emerged during the agency pitch process itself.

According to VJ Anand, the agency's founder, even members of the agency team initially thought the brief was for the juice company when they first heard the client name. “That’s when we realised this confusion is actually funny and culturally familiar,” he said, adding that the client itself acknowledged facing the same misunderstanding regularly.

"When we spoke to Diana and the Boost team about the idea of addressing the confusion, they admitted that they face this issue every single day. They loved the idea and even pushed us to make the idea wilder," added Anand.

Boo also said that the campaign signals a more confident, conversational and culturally relevant direction for Boost’s brand voice moving forward.

“Financial services marketing can sometimes feel overly serious, technical or predictable,” she said. “We knew we didn’t want another campaign that sounded like a bank talking at people.”

What we want is for Malaysians to associate ‘Boost = banking’. 

With that in mind, Boost's brand voice moving forward, will become more conversational, culturally relevant and witty. "While still staying grounded in trust and financial empowerment. Less jargon, more clarity. Less corporate-speak, more personality," Boo said. 

"No juicing, just banking" also reflects growing competition within Malaysia’s fintech and digital banking sector, where brands are increasingly relying on distinct storytelling and personality-led marketing to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.

"Marketing today is not just about promoting products, it’s about shaping how people understand and connect with a brand. Boost’s strength lies in sitting at the intersection of payments, merchant solutions, fintech and digital banking," Boo explained. 

"At the end of the day, we want Malaysians to see Boost not just as a financial services provider, but as a brand that’s built around helping people transact, grow and manage money more seamlessly in their everyday lives," she added. 

Previously, Boost celebrated Malaysia’s 68th Independence Day with a nationwide campaign, “68 Merdeka Kewangan,” aimed at promoting smarter, more responsible financial habits while showcasing the strength of its digital ecosystem. The phrase not only tied in with the country’s 68th National Day but also played on the idea of “financial freedom,” aligning with Boost’s mission to empower Malaysians in managing their money.

The initiative spanned the entire Boost network, including the Boost Wallet app, Boost Bank, social platforms, and its SME community. The campaign built on Boost’s positioning as Malaysia’s homegrown digital bank, designed to make financial well-being more accessible to Malaysians.

Related articles: 
Boost champions financial freedom in '68 Merdeka kewangan' campaign
Beyond the clapback: How humour and rivalry are winning Malaysian consumers 
Maybank responds to public backlash: 'Emblem on Merdeka 118 building a symbol of continuity'