Tag: why are you like this

[W4 Dada] I know they’re trying their best, but the cringe is real.

Things which fill me with unbridled rage: dubious Singaporean governmental campaigns.

Any student who has taken Social Studies before will understand that campaigns are preferred for their long-term effects in shaping mindsets. However, while some have been successful and/or are fundamentally important, it doesn’t change the fact that most of them involve advertisements which are outright bizarre and mundane.

Case in point:

I’m not sure if campaign culture is prevalent among other countries as well, but as far as I know, only the Singaporean government would bother launching campaigns for literally everything, from dental health to long-haired men and kindness. Sometimes, campaigns even contradict each other, such as the Speak Good English Movement, which goes against the government’s attempts to use colloquial Singlish as a cultural tool.

As such, Dada is evidently the art style to go to. More specifically, I did a collage, to reflect 1) the absurdity of the government’s ability to make everything into a campaign, 2) the confusion of all the different campaigns which are occurring simultaneously, and 3) the government’s clumsy attempts at being modern to relate to the younger generation.

Here’s a list of every single campaign I sourced (image sources are at the bottom):

Initially, I intended to do only dubious acronyms, but soon discovered that they are quite difficult to find when you’re consciously looking for them. Expanding into abbreviations did not help either. Thus, I expanded into dubious campaigns (which also often involve dubious acronyms anyway).

The element of chance comes mostly from me inviting people to contribute dubious campaigns which they know of, where some of the campaigns were not known to me previously. It also gave me more insight into advertisements which the general public remembered, than just me.

I then picked graphics associated with said campaign (video frames, posters, infographics, logos, etc). Mostly, I just placed them randomly until the entire sheet was filled up, overlaying graphics with different blend modes to create a psychedelic look.

Image sources:

  • https://www.tafep.sg/re-employment
  • http://www.ahappymum.com/2016/03/do-mozzie-wipeout.html
  • https://www.healthhub.sg/programmes/52/Fight_The_Spread
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singa_the_Lion
  • https://www.mumbrella.asia/2014/04/land-transport-authority-appoints-dentsu-graciousness-public-transport-campaign
  • https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/mrt-and-lrt-trains/graciousness-on-pt.html
  • https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/current-affairs-lounge-17/lta-mrt-bag-down-benny-serious-compromise-public-transport-safety-security-5271811.html
  • https://www.youth.sg/Users/G/R/graceneo/2016/2/The-three-stages-of-Singlish
  • https://www.facebook.com/speakgoodenglishmovement/
  • https://members.myactivesg.com/auth?redirect=%2Fprofile
  • https://sg.carousell.com/p/wtb-%E2%80%9Cshop-theft-is-a-crime%E2%80%9D-standee-164870754/
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/toomanythoughts/233535867
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYIOmVYMaN0
  • https://www.mom.gov.sg/ebook/workright/index.html
  • https://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.com/2012/09/workers-know-your-rights.html
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dxVkqqdbFk
  • https://lionraw.com/2012/04/17/the-death-of-dialects-in-singapore/
  • http://chopchopcurrypok.com/?p=574
  • https://www.cnb.gov.sg/NewsAndEvents/News/Index/anti-drug-abuse-campaign-2013
  • https://www.ncada.org.sg/get-involved/adopt-the-anti-drug-ribbon
  • https://www.healthhub.sg/programmes/107/hiv-prevention
  • http://srsc.org.sg/publications/road-safety-campaign-posters/
  • https://www.sbstransit.com.sg/press/2007-06-21-01-S.aspx
  • https://www.police.gov.sg/resources/prevent-crime/crime-prevention-posters/general-crime-posters
  • https://thisfword.wordpress.com/tag/gender-representation/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Wally
  • https://www.pub.gov.sg/ourlibrary/posters
  • https://www.nea.gov.sg/participate/campaigns/keep-sg-clean-movement
  • http://acfed.org/?wtm=gambling-in-problem-singapore
  • http://ga-bennie.blogspot.com/2014/07/great-prediction-by-singapore-govt.html
  • https://www.hpb.gov.sg/schools/school-programmes/healthy-meals-in-schools-programme