Who is Kelly Tan E Li and is she the luckiest girl in town?
By the time I’m done writing this, many Klang Valley dwelling bloggers would have already covered this piece of news. Can’t beat them to it, so join the horde of shutter-happy folks and snap away, I say.
UPDATE (3/3/08): The Love Diamond has a part to play in this story. Read about it here.
UPDATE (15/2/08): As it turns out, this stunt is indeed the real thing! Not some clever marketing campaign (as I’d hope for) but an extravagant idea mooted by David Tan, an account executive working for a local(?) ad agency.
Information was revealed on The Star Online this morning. I wonder just how many strings were pulled (or purse strings loosened!) just to make this happen. RM40k for the media buy and RM14k for the ring to top it off. David and Kelly, all the best in your lives together ahead 
What’s the fuss about? Some dude’s proposing to his girlfriend, that’s what. On a freakin’ billboard (!) at one of the busiest roads in town: the LDP (!!)
Billboard reads: “Kelly Tan E Li, Will You Marry Me?”
I mean, seriously, you gotta be paying sh*tloads to pull of a stunt like that (and have balls of steel in case she says ‘no’), yes?
If this is someone’s idea of a marketing campaign (think: who is adam king?, kilroy), I think it’s working! Why? Because it resonates with everyone at some personal level. Girls gush over how romantic this dude is. Guys go “Who the hell does this dude think he is? Bloody show-off!”. If this really is a genuine wedding proposal, this fella might have just raised the bar for all guys thinking of dropping the Big Question (thank God ours is over)
Either way, there’s just no denying how much hoo-ha this thing is gonna create. It’ll only be a matter of hours before major newspapers pick up the story.
I’m just over-analyzing here. Anyone with a clue? Feel free to leave a comment.
February 14th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
i dunno bro, but when i saw it i almost had accident
February 14th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Direct adaptation of idea from “How to Propose a Marriage” help page on the internet.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
he should put the chicks pic there bro
February 14th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
My comment was deleted cause i said the idea was directly from a “How to propose” website?
February 14th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I’ve got a sneaky feeling that this is some smartypants’ idea for a marketing campaign. Can’t blame me for being suspicious, I’m a marketer by profession! After all, we don’t usually have scoreboard-type announcements like they have in the US (y’know, those during baseball and football matches?)
Nope, i don’t delete comments! Unless of course they contain inappropriate language. Wordpress has this in-built moderation feature where I have to approve all comments before they get published. It just so happened that I wasn’t logged in to the system earlier to approve them.
Teej
February 14th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Hah! No picture of the chic, so is she real? A point to ponder, yes?
But then again, it’s a proposal. If you were him, why would you want to put your gf’s pic up there?
February 14th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
[...] is this one wonderful guy proposing to this girlfriend on a billboard at the [...]
February 14th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I’ll say I do.
Seems like we are using same theme
February 15th, 2008 at 3:58 am
i made a u-turn to see it again and later even brought a few friends to witness it!!!
February 15th, 2008 at 7:18 am
unbelievable… money is everything!
February 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am
well, my sister’s then boyfriend (now her husband) took out an ad in a newspaper declaring his love. but now they’re struggling financially. unless you’re really rich, are you going to do something this expensive for some instant gratification (wow what a romantic proposal)?
February 15th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Bloody Shithead …. think how many people go without a decent meal and yet he waste such a good sum of money for…..?
Yeah… like we know it’s all sweet and svaoury for now…
Jeeez man…. about the stupidest stunt which I am very sure
makes many of us puke !!!
February 15th, 2008 at 10:12 am
nope, not a marketing campaign.. it’s in the news
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/2/15/nation/20336463&sec=nation
February 15th, 2008 at 11:33 am
[...] are many bloggers mentioned their blogs. Check it out their write up about this [...]
February 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Thought was Cornetto ad.. geee , have anyone ever did that rest of the world ?
February 15th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
How come all the comments link back to your blog one?? There must be something wrong to your blog.
Steven Wong
February 15th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Sad lah, this dude.
All happy and romantic and big money now but what happens ten years down the line? “Honey, I married you because of that big billboard ad you put up…”
On the other hand, as a marketing gimmick, it sure works!
February 15th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I’m borrowing your picture!!!
February 15th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Guys, sorry if the ad boards nearly caused an accident or anythin bad. Anyways, happy cny to all of you. Cheers!
February 15th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Hey, David’s here! Dude, next time you pull off a stunt like that, you might want to include a warning for drivers
How about adding Kelly’s pic in there with her reply?
Teej
February 15th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
26 year old ‘ad man’, spending rm40000 on a billboard ad….BIJAK SUNGGUH TERSANGAT BIJAK sekali!…he must know someone in the billboard company la, pullin the strings for him….Romantic = YES
BIJAK = NO
February 16th, 2008 at 12:45 am
If this guy have the marketing plan, yet his proposing plan doesnt lost him any cent…in how, he is investing…if he can sold the billboard away and get some $$$ and then if SHE SAY “NO”…the ring can sell off again….
I dun think man is totally stupid!
February 16th, 2008 at 1:45 am
[...] “What’s the fuss about? Some dude’s proposing to his girlfriend, that’s what. On a freakin’ billboard (!) at one of the busiest roads in town: the LDP (!!) Spending big to get the girlBillboard reads: “Kelly Tan E Li, Will You Marry Me?” I mean, seriously, you gotta be paying shitloads to pull of a stunt like that (and have balls of steel in case she says ‘no’), yes? If this is someone’s idea of a marketing campaign (think: who is adam king?, kilroy), I think it’s working! Why? Because it resonates with everyone at some personal level. Girls gush over how romantic this dude is. Guys go “Who the hell does this geezer think he is? Bloody show-off!”. If this really is a genuine wedding proposal, this fella might have just raised the bar for all guys thinking of dropping the Big Question (thank God ours is over)” - tripadlily [...]
February 16th, 2008 at 2:24 am
haha, well, i didnt know it will be such a big hoo hah… sorry dude
February 16th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
RM40K for a billboard? I would prefer RM40K for a diamond ring and RM14K for a rolex watch or maybe RM40K for diamond ring and RM14K for a nice romantic dinner all by ourselves in a restaurant. At least I have something worth RM40K on hand… and not RM14K!
February 17th, 2008 at 12:51 am
[...] Syamsulariff, The Star, Tripadilly, Becklee, bmwclubmalaysia, [...]
February 18th, 2008 at 12:16 am
in the papers, it says, his family is in this line of business, ie billboard.
so he is a rich kid whose family owns billboards. if my dad owns a few billboard, i will show you…
at 25 , can afford a 14000 ring? definitely not average salary man of
April 7th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I really want to see someone bought a “Life” for someone they love… so they will have an extra life..
How much is a “Life”