A Malaysian man recently shared his grouses over the Visit Malaysia 2026 billboards, criticising its simple and plain design.
Shared on Threads, an image of the billboard attached showed the Visit Malaysia 2026 logo alongside its mascots, two sun bears, official website and social media tags all in front of a plain white background.
“First of all, the billboard’s message is empty. Logo, tagline and mascots but that’s it? There are no iconic pictures, no beautiful scenery, nothing that makes people say ‘Wow. I want to go to Malaysia’,” said the post.
The second pointed shared was the location of the billboards, he was wondering what is the point of promoting Malaysia to its own people when the main target market is international tourists.
He also raised the budget, saying that the millions of ringgit spent was wasted on promoting it in Malaysia.
“When I look back on it, this campaign feels like Malaysia promoting Malaysia to Malaysians.
“Who approved of this strategy and what is the actual return on investment (ROI) in putting these billboards in (Malaysia)? If they want to attract tourists, showcase Malaysia at a global stage, not to Malaysians who are already in Malaysia,” he added.
While many shared similar sentiments, other users shared that the government has made efforts to promote Malaysia’s tourism in different countries such as Kazakhstan, Dubai and London.
Others also shared their own thoughts on the placements and design, with some believing that the local VM2026 billboards could serve as an effort to encourage domestic tourism while in regards to the design, some believe that the minimalist design was easier on the eyes especially since the billboards are placed on highways and major roads.
Meanwhile, commenters also speculated that the simple design could be a teaser to raise awareness of the Malaysian government’s tourism campaign for VM2026.
“I believe that the billboard is a teaser meant to raise awareness among Malaysians — a straightforward message.A billboard full of design elements doesn’t necessarily determine whether people will be interested, let alone make them stop and stare at it for a long time, especially in high-traffic areas,” said a user.
“Personally, I believe that the billboard is not a full-on advertisement but could be a teaser and tourism campaigns are executed in phases. The current billboards are probably at the awareness phase,” a commenter speculated.
“I reckon the marketing agency designed this advertisment with mascots, typography, a tagline, and a white background to keep it simple and minimalistic because our brains notice clean, simple designs more easily, especially in busy places like streets or city areas,” another commented.
