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Fertility campaign in Singapore draws mixed reaction

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Making its rounds on social media, is an OOH ad campaign promoting fertility.The campaign is created by the group I Love Children (ILC), a group promoting early parenthood in Singapore and has caught the attention of the public for all the wrong reason. Members of the public have criticised the bold and colourful ad for being distasteful.In a statement to Today, defending the ad, the group said it was simply to encourage people to have more children and present facts on late pregnancies.ILC president Joni Ong, said the intention was not to scare the public but rather the group was "only speaking to those who feel that they’re not sure" and are hence "sitting on the fence." This would be an encouragement in the direction of having a child.Take a look at the campaign:Marketing has reached out to ILC for a statement but the group was unable to respond at the time of writing.Meanwhile Jolene Tan, programmes and communications senior manager at AWARE Singapore told Marketing that while it was good that facts about reproductive health to be freely available, this particular campaign comes across as intrusive and "tasteless badgering" and borders on "scaremongering"."Whether, when and how to have children is a very personal matter which people should be free to decide on based on their own values, circumstances and goals.  Some people want to have children, some do not, some only want them later in life - all choices are equally valid," she said."We disagree with the basic premise of I Love Children, which according to its website 'believes...that all married couples should take the bold plunge into parenthood'," Tan added.Local ad agency Addiction Advertising's account director Lionel Lim said to call it "scaremongering" would be a stretch."A cartoon sperm and egg. I must admit that I'm totally unaware that this is considered scare-mongering. Here's a fact (scare-mongering or not) by PM Lee which we should be aware of- by 2050, we would be the fastest aging society in the world! So I'd say better get the seed in place for the perfect landing," he said.Katherine Khor, creative group head of GOVT also agrees it is not aggressive or intrusive. But the pressure is uncalled for and there is enough pressure from family and friends."It doesn't do anything for me personally but women don't need an additional party telling them to have children. Ladies need to be stress free to conceive, so this pressure its not helping," she said.  Khor also added that a better way to have probably spent the money would have been through personal one-on-one conversations or smaller social engagements.The topic is not one meant to be splattered across a train ride home, she added.Street talk:Meanwhile, Marketing also spoke to several members of the public on their thoughts. Here are some comments that came in.Rebecca Lewis, 31: The decision to have a child is deeply personal, and I think that anyone heading down the path of parenthood is capable of doing their own research on the matter. Personally, I am not sure I would enjoy being confronted with messages about my fertility while waiting for the MRT (and for anyone struggling with fertility issues, it could also become a painful trigger), however I do think it’s easy enough to simply ignore if you wish to do so. If a couple doesn’t want children, I’m sure a campaign like this isn’t going to scare them into changing their minds – nor should it.Helen Mah, 28:In my humble opinion, hinting at an expiry date for women to have children is harsh. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, the ad is targeted at families who do want kids. If the ad is simply targeted at women, it would be more upsetting, but it seems to be targeted at families. It isn't shaming a specific group of people. It could be a case of the public over-reacting.

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