Just thought you may be interested in having a look at our blog – which takes a critical look at advertising in Singapore:

http://www.theviperpit-blog.com

Cheers,
TVP

we were ruled by British. Lee kuan Yew, the father of Singapore.
The one who is highly responsible for what we are today…

A little information about him.
When the british rules Singapore.. His grandpa, a wealthy buisness man, learnt to speak english due to the need to interact with the british for business reasons. Lee kuan yew, at a tender age learnt english…

Since then , Lee kuan yew always had difficulties picking up chinese. (this was around the 1920s)

he then went to cambridge university and came back to do law and eventually governed Singapore.

When he started governing Singapore… He felt that there has to be one language that everybody understands. During his days in cambridge, he learnt a lot and decided that English would do Singapore economic good. as he felt that that’s the only way we can interact with the westerners. Who then, ruled the economy.

Thus, here we are today. Everybody being able to interact with each other.

From then onwards, Singapore is highly westernized because that’s the only language that we all can understand. We don use much of our local artist is because, we , unlike other country.. Our market is small…

Local celebrity get paid peanuts = not glamourous = we don go gaga over them.

TADA!

Of all the Asian countries, Singapore is the most “American,” and western lifestyle is heavily integrated (almost too much in my opinion). The country itself is the amalgamation of at least three nationalities and many faiths, and it’s accustomed to absorbing foreign influences. In other Asian countries, the balance of Western vs local images varies greatly. Political systems past and present, traditionalism, cultural identity, population homogeneity, and landscape of foreign/multinational businesses — all acutely affect advertising much more in Asia.

So, is this a missed opportunity in Singapore? I think it is, or at least more in-depth research is in order. The elusive goal to produce one campaign to appeal to the masses is always an overwhelming challenge throughout Asia, given its complexity region to region. Perhaps that’s why the Western image is chosen… it’s just “easier” on many levels. Having said all this, the single force that is still very powerful – the mystique of American movie stars… their awe factor remains strong.