This may be the most unexpected anti-terrorism advertising campaign ever. It’s a musical theatre video, featuring Singaporean singer-songwriter, Nathan Hartono, as the antagonist who plans to inflict harm on the city-state. Rather than present a doom and gloom story, the video entertains with its exaggerated drama and emphasises the strength of Singaporeans to show how an empowered and united community can help keep Singapore safe from terrorism.
Foiled Once More was created by VML Singapore and the Ministry of Home Affairs, for SGSecure, the Singapore government’s anti-terrorism community movement. It builds on SGSecure’s What’s your Role campaign to mobilise the community to join the fight against terrorism and was launched at the SGSecure Roadshow on July 27, 2024, at Suntec City.
The music video dives into the mind of a terrorist to uncover his motives. The terrorist, played by Nathan Hartono, plots and plans to destroy the city, divide the community and disrupt their way of life. He is thwarted by the Singaporean community’s resilience, vigilance, and unity in the aftermath of an attack. They rise from the rubble to rebuild the city together, ultimately foiling the terrorist’s goal of destroying the social fabric, that extends beyond physical devastation.
Nimesh Desai, chief executive officer, VML Singapore, stated, “In our continuous efforts to build and sustain awareness about terrorism, we decided to leverage the antagonist’s perspective to demonstrate the power of unity, and use it to encourage Singaporeans to play their roles together to keep Singapore safe.”
Commenting, Wilbur Sim, director (SGSecure Programme Office, MHA), added, “ Our societal fabric is only as strong as its weakest link. The music video is a novel approach to conveying the importance of staying united as one people, and bouncing back with tenacity when a terror attack occurs. It takes a whole-of-society effort to keep Singapore, as well as our families and friends, safe from terrorist threats. Together, we make SGSecure.”
Nathan Hartono commented, “It was such an interesting angle to take on such an important topic. I enjoyed the creative process of figuring out how to craft a story, a song, and a character at the same time! It gave me a lot to think about, especially about the aspects of our safety we take for granted.”
Credits:
Creative Agency: VML Singapore
Chief Creative Officer: Mateusz Mroszczak
Group Creative Director: Gerald Chue
Associate Creative Director: Gelo Lico
Junior Art Director: Ee Min Goh
Executive Producer: Kimie Ong
Associate Strategy Director: JS Foo
Business Director: Fred Eng
Account Director: Hazel Lim
Account Managers: Liming Yu & Bernice Wong
Associate Project Director: Gisela Sim
Music Company: Warner Music Singapore
Singer-Songwriter: Nathan Hartono
Head of Domestic: Lennat Mak
Brand and Business Manager: Charmaine Chin
Production & Post-Production: ROLLA Productions
Director: Jake Nam
Executive Producer: Gary Tham
DOP: Kelvin Chew
Producer: Zhai Xiaoxuan
Post Producer: Sandy Ng
Offline Editor: Ashvin Segar
Colourist: fmlik
Online Editor: Cindy Lee
VFX: Liu Qiong
Audio Mix: Fuse Adventures in Audio
