SG govt creates earworm for silver gen with getai video in new vaccination push

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) is making another push to encourage senior citizens to get vaccinated with a series of "Vaccinate Already?" music videos. Done in collaboration with Tribal Worldwide Singapore and Chuan Pictures, the videos are inspired by stage performances from the eighties, the music videos will feature artists such as Wang Lei, Liu Ling Ling, Marcus Chin, Rahimah Rahim, and L. Vijayandran. The languages available for the videos are in Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and dialects such as Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese. 

Aiming to address the concerns from the seniors' on the COVID-19 vaccination, the music videos play on common local phrases such as "Have You Eaten" and the new greeting "Vaccinate Already?". This is to encourage the seniors to not delay any vaccination shots, as well as to drum up awareness among locals to urge one another to get vaccinated. 

To appeal to the seniors, the music videos took place at settings such as the wet market, a provision shop, and a coffee shop. Utilising the retro vibe and catchy melody in the videos, MCI aims to address the importance of vaccination, especially for seniors and those with chronic illnesses. Since its release, the music videos have garnered positive responses as more seniors "are coming forward to get vaccinated" said the director, campaigns, and productions department of MCI’s public communications division, Soffy Hariyanti. As more citizens are vaccinated, the country can look forward to a safer reopening, she added. The music videos were shot by local director Royston Tan, while the production was a collaboration between composer Jim Lim who composed the Dialect song, and re-arranged by singer-songwriter, Shabir Tabare Alam for the Malay and Tamil songs.

ECD at Tribal Worldwide Singapore, Benson Toh, said that despite knowing that the vaccination protects not only ourselves but our loved ones, some seniors might still have misconceptions about the vaccine. To ensure that the message from the music videos was spread in an entertaining manner, veteran personalities and a catchy song were used to capture the attention of seniors, Toh added. 

Meanwhile, Tribal's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the dialect version of the video is currently among the top nine trending videos on YouTube in Singapore and has a total of 400k views on social media. The spokesperson explained that the priority was to work out the song and its lyrics.

"As we had to create the song in different languages, we worked closely with different lyricists to ensure the key messages were accurately represented. At the same time, we began to explore various concepts for the shoot. As our target audience were the seniors, we took inspiration from 80s stage performances and recreated the style and mood in our video. The celebrities were also selected for their popularity and trustworthiness among the elderly," the spokesperson explained. Working in different languages for the song was one of the main challenges. The team had to make sure we included all key messages, and still, keep the song catchy.

Multiple media outlets including Bloomberg recently reported that Singapore has vaccinated 80% of its population against COVID-19. Since the vaccine rollout, the Singapore government has not taken its foot off the pedal when it comes to engaging the silver generation to get vaccinated. 

MCI has since produced several videos in the four official languages and dialects to ensure the communications resonate with the silver generation. At the same time, mediums and formats such as radio capsules and customised infographics for print, digital and social media platforms have been utilised to engage seniors and their caregivers. To cover all bases, MCI also produced infographics for OOH platforms at bus stops and MRT stations as well as the digital display panels in HDB estates. According to Soffy, relevant messages targeting seniors were also weaved into programmes such as online getai shows also known as e-getai. MCI even got ministers such as Josephine Teo and Ong Ye Kung to front the dialect videos.

These initiatives have been a hit among seniors as MCI's polls showed that the communications had high reach, message takeaways and engagement. MCI also previously saw an encouraging uptake of vaccination among the seniors, with about 75% of seniors aged 60 and above having booked their appointments or received their vaccination so far, she said in July.

The ministry's efforts to engage with the silver generation go back a couple of years when it first launched a series of Pioneer Generation Package videos. The videos were available in Chinese, Malay, and dialects like Hokkien. It later also launched a series of videos called "A Merdeka Story" two years ago in multiple languages.

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