Singapore Navy reminds women they were never afraid to make waves

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has launched a new campaign aimed at positioning the Navy as an attainable and rewarding career choice for women.

Titled "There was a time (When nothing was too crazy for her)", the campaign was developed in partnership with McCann Singapore and targets female students across junior colleges, ITEs, polytechnics and universities.

The campaign was created in response to research showing that 82% of young women rule out a Navy career because they feel it does not align with their perceived passions. Meanwhile, 58% believe a career in the Navy would be too physically demanding.

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Rather than addressing these barriers directly, the campaign takes women back to a time before such self-imposed limits existed. It builds on the insight that young girls often begin life fearless, curious and unconstrained, willing to try anything before societal expectations begin shaping what they believe is or is not meant for them.

Through this lens, the campaign seeks to remind women in Singapore that qualities such as strength, leadership and bravery are not traits they lack, but ones they may have stopped recognising in themselves.

The campaign features out-of-home, social and direct mailer activations showing young girls in moments of uninhibited play, commanding the room, taking charge and deciding for themselves what is fun. These moments are intended to reflect the qualities that can support a successful career in the Navy.

"There was a time (When nothing was too crazy for her)" is the latest chapter in McCann Singapore’s six-year partnership with RSN. It builds on the Navy’s recruitment platform "It’s not crazy, it’s the Navy", which sought to challenge perceptions of Navy careers and defence marketing.

This new campaign extends the platform to a female audience by shifting the focus from external perceptions of the Navy to the internal perceptions young women may hold about themselves.

“We believe that the most effective recruitment work does not just showcase what's on offer but shifts how people see themselves in relation to it. Guided by McCann’s “Truth well told” philosophy, this idea is powerful because it is rooted in a simple truth – that there is a version of every woman that existed before society placed limits on her ambitions," said Daniel Kee, chief creative officer at McCann Singapore. 

He added, "We wanted to reframe not only how women perceived the Navy, but the beliefs they hold about themselves. To do that, the work had to feel personal, rather than fact-driven." 

Kee said the campaign was shaped around the visual language of childhood memories, with a grainy and intimate feel reminiscent of old family photographs. The intention, he explained, was to connect with women at a point before societal limits and expectations were learned, and to encourage them to recognise the qualities they have always had.

He also noted, "It is also worth noting that this campaign idea was developed by an all-female creative team, which could explain why it feels less like an advertisement and more like recognition.”

The campaign follows other recent defence recruitment efforts in Singapore that have used more audience-specific storytelling to challenge perceptions of military careers.

Last year, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) launched “Find your squad. Find your #AboveAll”, a Gen Z-focused campaign built around an immersive, mission-based mobile film experience. The campaign moved away from conventional recruitment ads to spotlight teamwork and belonging, while reframing perceptions of the RSAF beyond pilots to highlight the wider range of roles that support the force.

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