The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2020
iQIYI's '#AnakMalaysia' poster read as something else because of one font choice
iQIYI's Malaysia Day poster read '#AnakMalaysia' — its font squeezed the 'k' so tightly it read as a different, obscene word. iQIYI pulled it and apologized.
iQIYI · 2020-09-09
What happened
On 9 September 2020, iQIYI Malaysia put up a promotional poster for its '#AnakMalaysia' campaign, timed to Malaysia Day, spotlighting local shows on the streaming platform.
The font rendered the word 'Anak' (child) with its lowercase 'k' sitting so close to the following letter that social media users quickly read the hashtag as a different, obscene word instead. The poster went viral for the misreading rather than the campaign it was meant to promote.
iQIYI took the poster down and apologized publicly on social media: 'Minta maaf ya if our logo design created any confusion! Next time we check at least 50 times okay?'
Why it happened
- A logo only has to be misread once by the internet to become the story — the campaign's actual message never had a chance to compete with the joke.
- Kerning is a design decision with real stakes at word-boundary letters — tightening the space between a 'k' and what follows is exactly where a clean word can turn into an unintended one.
- One pass of proofing sees what the designer meant to write; a poster needs a pass from someone trying to misread it before it goes up in public.
The lesson
iQIYI's '#AnakMalaysia' poster read as something else because its font squeezed one letter too close to the next. It went viral for the wrong reason and came down fast.
Aftermath
iQIYI removed the poster and apologized with a lighthearted note promising more careful review, and the campaign continued under corrected typography.
Sources
- iQIYI Malaysia apologises following confusion over #AnakMalaysia logo and font — Marketing-Interactive
- iQIYI Malaysia removes Malaysia Day poster after design blunder — Malay Mail
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