Digi’s new Yellowdude

Did you see Digi’s tougher-looking version of their mascot the Yellowman? I saw him on tv last night. Being tougher, I’ll call him Yellowdude. Come to think of it, he and Spongebob Squarepants will make quite a team don’t you think.

So what will Yellowdude do to the guy in the cinema who screams “Hero also die I tell you, I am taikor mah“? Kick his Ah Beng butt pleeeaaasee. Its about time the Dude showed some backbone.

Characterizing a brand as a person to make people bond with it. Clever move. Think about it. If Maxis was a person, who would it be? What about Celcom? I’ve seen pop and football stars being batted around but has any succeeded in achieving the cultish status of the Yellowman? I think not.

But seriously as a consumer, I can’t help but chuckle at this sudden image makeover. I think we’re witnessing an interesting case study of underdog brand management. I say underdog because for one, I believe they’re the only one in town without a 3G license which some predicted will cause them to fold. Sizewise I’m also told they’re the smallest of the 3 providers here, a real bummer if you’re managing the brand. And so on and so forth.

So the newly refurbished Mr. tough Yellowdude enters a market being pulled in 3 directions.

• The young & trendy who lives and breathes the music of Maxis/Hotlink’s pop stars.
• The football crazies cornered by Celcom plus fans of Wang Lee Hom. (Talk about strange bedfellows hehe )
• The rest of us who are struggling hard to survive in spite of the odds and taikor bullies. Iconized by the non-celebrity Yellowman.

So has this fat-out-of-shape-ordinary-underdog image really connected with the altruistic side in us? Do people really see a bit of themselves in the Yellowman? Or does it further enforce Digi’s image as a weakling that some anti-Digi parodies are trying to portray?

Contrary to conventional wisdom I suspect Digi’s subscriber figures will show that they are anything but weak. So its not about price, technology and wishful chest-beating is it. Its about connecting with people through tangible value, experience and a rallying identity, in that order. You know you’ve made an impact when people start making parodies and writing stuff about your storyboards. People like me, and him, and him. Can we say the same of the other phone companies? Probably not. What does it tell you about who’s making real gains in the mindshare & heartshare war despite the odds?

So anyway, what adventures await this tough new Yellowdude? I haven’t the faintest idea but I’m guessing we’re in for a bit of muscle-flexing. About time too. And yes please, do kick the butt of the cinema taikor dude. You know, zap him with a taser gun or something. It’ll be so cool.

One last thing. With the advent of Mr. kick-ass Yellowdude and I guess the exit of Yellowwimp (they can’t possibly coexist without cramping each other’s style can they), what will happen to the legion of the downtrodden? To Mr and Mrs Ordinary? Will they suddenly get supercharged with the same mojo that zapped Yellowdude? Or will they see the end of a faithful champion that brought underdogs onto the silver screen, terminated by a tough-talking yellow Shwarzenegger? Or will Digi do a Spiderman on us and give us wimp by day, hero by night? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.