Nando’s courts customers with pick-up lines this Ramadan

Nando’s Malaysia and Singapore has launched a social-led campaign for the month of Ramadan. Created in collaboration with creative content agency Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), the “Nando’s pick-up line” campaign leverages the cultural phenomenon of playful pick-up lines prevalent in Malaysia and Singapore during the holy month. 

The campaign transforms the double meaning of "pick-up line"— being both a flirtatious remark and the convenience of pre-ordering — into an engaging marketing strategy. 

"Nando's pick-up line" features weekly videos showcasing light-hearted pick-up line battles, with cheeky depictions of typical flirtatious exchanges that unexpectedly culminate with Nando's pick-up service, highlighting its convenience and efficiency. 

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The “Nando’s pick-up line” series posted on the restaurant chain’s Malaysian Instagram account feature the pick-up lines in Manglish, while the ones on its Singaporean Instagram account are predominantly in English.  

Some of the popular Ramadan pick-up lines featured include: “Is your name Wana? Because I wanna berbuka ('break my fast') with you” and “Do you know you can’t spell Sahur ('pre-dawn meal') without U?”.

However, before the cheesy lines can be completed, a Nando’s staff cuts in to propose a better pick-up line— the one at Nando’s pick-up counter.  

“No queue, no hassle, Iftar ('break fast meal') settle,” the staff said. The captions on the videos have also suggested that Nando’s pick-up lines will beat the Ramadan ones any day.  

Shariar Ab Ghafar, creative director of MBCS said, "Ramadan presents significant opportunities for brands to truly understand the real cultural nuances behind the scenes. In Singapore and Malaysia for example, playful pick-up lines have become a cultural staple during Ramadan, filling our social feeds as a fun way to pass the time before iftar.” 

“The team thought, what if we took the double meaning of a ‘pick-up line’ and turned it into a campaign? Nando’s has always been in this space of playfulness and the team has enjoyed having some fun with this campaign. After all, who doesn’t love a good pick up?” he added.  

In addition, Nando’s Malaysia and Singapore will run a contest in search of the best Raya pick-up lines between 20 to 27 March, where winners will stand a chance to win a Nando’s Family Platter for four. 

So far, Nando’s has been the only one to take the flirtatious route this Ramadan. Most brands in Malaysia have taken either a comedic or heartwarming direction with their Raya campaigns. For example, ZUS Coffee blended comedic horror into its "Sembang-sembang dengan ZUS" ('Have a chat with ZUS') campaign, which features a song titled Cerita malam raya ('on the night of Raya'). 

Meanwhile, fast food brand KFC Malaysia added a creative twist to their annual Raya campaign, by dropping an exclusive baju Melayu (traditional Malay outfit) and baju kebaya (traditional dress) for cats, to promote its Turkish Spice line. 

Earlier this year, IKEA used the cheeky and classic “U up?” line, in a Canadian campaign created by independent agency Rethink. The brand slid into the DMs of late-night scrollers, and users who responded to the message were then given discounts on IKEA mattresses. Those who engaged in some late-night banter between 10pm and 5am were rewarded with a free mattress entirely. 

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