Maybank trends for different reasons in Malaysia
Malaysians left in confusion over versions of “Maybank” from Twitter trend.
Image adapted from: @goldennmgc & The Asean Post
An unexpected silver lining of the Movement Control Order (MCO) for Malaysians is finally being able to catch up with dramas and films on Netflix since we now have a lot of time on our hands.
But it seems that many of us have yet to learn about a Netflix TV show called Outer Banks. This comes after a Twitter trend for a character stealing hearts in it named JJ Maybank had many Malaysians doing a double take online, as they mistook this Maybank for our local bank of the same name.
Lost in translation over “Maybank” on Twitter
No doubt, many of us have fallen head over heels for a TV show or character before and expressed our feelings for it online.
Which is why it’s not surprising that many took their love for a soapy Netflix American teenage drama, Outer Banks, to Twitter. This made “Maybank”, the surname of a presumably beloved character in the show, trend online yesterday on 11th May 2020.
“Maybank” was in the Top 20 Twitter trends in Malaysia yesterday.
Image adapted from: Tweeplers
In a hilarious twist of fate, Maybank, the character, shares the same name with our local bank, also Maybank, shortened from Malayan Banking Berhad.
So while the word is a pretty common surname in the West, it isn’t the same for us, which is why many Malaysians were understandably confused over the trending topic on Twitter.
Malaysians left amused and worried for a moment
Many posts which showed up under a Twitter search for “Maybank” were originally of fans swooning over JJ Maybank, the character. But it has now been hijacked by Malaysians who have come to realise that the trending “Maybank” word did not mean what they thought it did after it hit the Top 10 Malaysian trends list for an hour yesterday.
Twitter user @syeeraszl summed up many of our confusions online, saying, “Maybank is trending. I thought they’re all here talking about Maybank Berhad, Malaysia’s largest bank. It’s just the name of a person”.
Image adapted from: @syeeraszl
While some were just amused to find that a hot guy has the same name as their national bank, others were genuinely concerned about the trending topic. Twitter user Anis tweeted, “Maybank is trending and I thought something wrong happened at the bank, turns out it’s just some white boy named maybank”.
Image adapted from: @purplxpvndv
Another user, @damncheena, also thought there was a security breach within Maybank that led to it being the talk of the town online. She tweeted, “Saw Maybank trending and my heart dropped coz I thought there’s a breach? Turns out people are just talking about some tv show character or something”.
Image adapted from: @damncheena
Others wasted no time sharing jokes after finding out the real reason behind the trending topic, with one saying that it was free publicity for Maybank as the word was going viral on Twitter.
Some even joked if “CIMB”, another local bank, would join the lineup of names and surnames in TV shows, with user Garnet even joking that she would name her son CIMB if the trend continued.
Image adapted from: @gbecest
Malaysia’s “Maybank” Twitter trend
Like most trends on Twitter, the response to why it was trending instead of tweets about the word itself helped keep the trend going strong by Malaysians yesterday.
While it brought a moment of panic over security concerns, it also brought laughter to people who found out why it was trending. And we think we can all agree we need some humour in our lives in this tense time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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