New pro-family advertisement moves away from picture-perfect images

SINGAPORE: Another pro-family advertisement will hit TV screens soon but this time, it won’t be that of a picture-perfect image of a family.

The video will be aired starting June 21 as part of this year's National Family Celebrations.

It's commissioned by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) which has roped in award-winning film-maker from Malaysia, Yasmin Ahmad.

Unlike previous campaigns that usually portray happy parents with two or three kids, this commercial is about a single father who's struggling to raise his only child. Other sequels to this video will feature similar families of other races.

While the image may be different, the message about the importance of family ties is the same.

MCYS said the S$2 million campaign was initiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after watching various advertisements produced by Yasmin.

She may also be engaged to produce another series of commercials on Singapore's multi-racial society.

Richard Tan, Communications and International Relations, MCYS, said: “Typically for any kind of campaign, we try to be politically correct in our portrayal of family. Her (Yasmin’s) way is to take a slice of life that we normally would try to avoid seeing. We feel that using this particular way of communicating may have a greater impact in communicating with the younger people and even the family about the importance of family. - CNA/vm