I refer to the Proton's poignant corporate television commercial aired during the Merdeka period recently. The commercial was produced by McCann-Erickson who (as reported in The Sun , Oct 16) said that it was done to 'address a problem Malaysians' continuous criticisms of their national car' and that 'it's better to tell a story than to hard-sell the product'.

Admittedly, McCann-Erickson did a terrific job in telling the story but it must have been within parameters dictated or approved by Proton themselves.

The underlying message of the commercial appears to be that the brand is under siege and an appeal to nostalgia and the national pride of Malaysians is the antidote to rack up sales.

It is common knowledge that Proton badge-engineered its cars until the development of the Waja and then began a new phase of developing original designs. Therefore, it should bring the previous phase to a close because it continues to taint the perception of its current and original designs.

A most descriptive term for badge-engineering is 'legalised imitation'. Such a product is nothing but a defilement of intellectual property. It is void of heritage and parasitic to its owner simply because it gobbles resources and contributes nothing to the development of the brand, not to mention the reputation of the owner. If not for price, there is no reason one would purchase such a product, nostalgia and national pride notwithstanding.

The problem begins when the owner of the brand embraces originality. Perception of the brand is already sullied and seriously injured by then and like the boy who cried wolf, the perception spawns a critical if not a blinkered market which has to be convinced repeatedly that the brand is in a new phase.

Before the launch of the Waja, the man who started it all promised that once Proton emerged out of badge-engineering, Malaysians would then be proud of the national car. This indirectly acknowledged that Malaysians were ashamed of the product until then.

Proton kept the first part of the promise by introducing distinctive originals in the form of the Waja, Gen-2, Savvy and Neo, but pride is still found wanting mainly because its badge-engineered models which share the same brand are still being sold alongside its originals.

To cure this perception and convince the critics, Proton has to come clean on its past and discontinue their Mitsubishi imitations, the Saga, Wira and Perdana. Alternatively, sell or market these cars under a different brand name.

The critical Malaysian in this context exists not because he is ashamed of Proton but simply because he is brand-conscious. Hence, the television commercial ought to have projected an information based hard-sell addressing distinctively the subject of originality, the main criteria being the new phase which in reality has given birth to a new Proton altogether.

Malaysians will find their pride when they are convinced that Proton is now an original car designer and builder and no longer an assembler of 'legalised imitations'.