As Good As Gold ... Magnum Gold?! Launch Party

What’s luxury without the presence of gold? Well, the girls may fancy diamonds but gold will always remain the gift of choice due to its unprecedented lustre and value. 

Recently, premium ice-cream Magnum welcomed the advent of its limited edition cold confection known as Magnum Gold (stylised as Magnum Gold?!) 

A definite rare treat for Magnum fans, the ice-cream will be available in Malaysia for the duration of 12 months only. How does the ice-cream looks and tastes like? We’ll get to that part in a minute. 

To celebrate the advent of such a rare golden treat, a lavish affair in town was organised by Unilever Malaysia. 

Held at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur hotel, the party was attended by a coterie of fashionistas, KL’s society mavens, as well as Malaysian celebrities such as Chef Wan, songstress Ning Baizura and former Miss World Malaysia 2009/2010 Thanuja Ananthan.

A ball that is luxurious enough to turn King Midas green with envy and make Cinderella cry for not being invited, a red carpet was laid at the entrance, lending an air of unparallel glamour to it. 

Of course, the chic ones – yours truly included - could not resist posing for the photographers as they make their way into the grand ballroom for the party. 

At the decks, hot DJ Patricia K spun a mixture of urban and sensuous beats and rhythms while posing for the photographers as she enjoyed her first taste of Magnum Gold.  

In between chic tête-à-têtes on fashion picks of the season to what’s happening around the city, sumptuous array of canapés and free-flowing drinks were served and guests feted on the star of the evening: bars of Magnum Gold. 

Most guests were seen dressing up to the nines in the party’s shade du soir (not du jour which means “day” for the event was held in the evening) – gold – in plethora of forms such as accessories and clothes.

However, since yours truly does not have anything that is doused in golden hue, I’ve chosen to show up in a shirt with blue ikat print against yellowish milieu by Sandro Paris; a pair of Burberry Steadman straight jeans; and soft leather Gucci loafers. 

Oh, thank goodness the buckle of my Mulberry plaited belt which I have wonderfully treasured since the last few years is in the shade of gold. 

At least, there’s a bit of spark on me that won’t make me feel fashionably alienated from the rest of the party.

The event opened with a live rendition of Adele’s Skyfall by Isabella Soliano with emcee Andrea Fonseka who was all drenched in golden sequins, welcoming guests to party. 

Then came the opening gambit led by Herry Budiazhari, Marketing Director of Unilever (Malaysia) Holdings Sdn Bhd. The suspense-filled gambit started with sudden appearance of faux tear gas and the dancers who acted as bodyguards were losing their consciousness. 

It turned out that Mr Budiazhari has been kidnapped by the female dancers. Following suit is a video of the kidnappers torturing Budiazhari and followed by dance sequence by the dancers to the beat of remixed “Die another day” by Madonna.      

The dancers were trying their best to unlock the vault but all attempts were unfruitful. An explosion sound followed and the dancers sprawled on the stage. Mr Budiazhari escaped and returned back to the stage. 

As he about to unlock the vault, there came another surprise – the stunning Ms Caroline Correa who was exclusively flown in from Los Angeles to Malaysia by Magnum. For the uninitiated, Ms Correa is the star of Magnum’s TV commercial alongside award-winning actor Benicio del Toro.

Dressed in a mermaid silhouette evening gown drenched in pure gold pailettes and sweetheart neckline, Ms Correa walked into the ballroom with confidence. All eyes were on her as well as the dress. 

She walked up to the stage and a little dialogue between her and Mr Budiazhari ensued. For your information, the dress that Ms Correa wore is made of 24k gold, valued at RM 1.3 million! 

Well, with that sum of money I could easily get myself 10 Birkins in exotic hides.

Next, they made an exchange with Ms Correa handing him a tiara. The vault was finally unsealed and inside was thousands of gold bars as well as the Magnum Gold ice cream. Both Mr Budiazhari and Ms Correa then posed for the camera. Following suit, guests were treated to the presentation of Magnum Gold TV commercial where Ms Correa and Benicio del Toro played a married couple cum partners in crime. 

The commercial was directed by Bryan Singer, the same director who directed the X-Men franchise. 

With the unveiling of the edible gold bars, waiters made their way into the grand ballroom with trays of Magnum Gold served on a bed of whip cream and garnished with fresh raspberries and mint leaves.

A mouth-watering treat indeed, the ice-cream boasts melt-in-mouth Belgian chocolate coating doused in golden tinge sheathing the iconic semi-oblong silhouette of soft vanilla ice-cream.

While the guests were enjoying Magnum Gold, the photographers and some guests thronged the edge of the stage to capture images of Ms Correa and Mr Budiazhari. 

She then walked towards the VIP lounge and mingled with guests while accepting requests for their photos to be taken with her. 

Yours truly was one of the lucky ones and she was impressed by my ability to speak in her native language – Portuguese – although I told her that “Eu fala Portuguese muito poco”, which meant I speak very little Portuguese. 

Ms Correa was taken out of the ballroom for a couple of media interviews and returned to join the other guests at the VIP area as Isabella entertained the crowd with golden hits. 

Thanks a billion to Salina & Associates PR team and Magnum for inviting me to be part of such a glamorous and fun-filled evening. Magnum Gold is available now nationwide. 

*Photos by me.