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Get lost lah, Singapore Tourism Board!



Singapore Tourism Board, or STB, recently launched a "Get lost" visit Singapore advertisement that has led many Singaporean perplexed by the choice of words used to entice Australians to come visit this island state.

Wrote mrbrown,
I guess this was Singapore taking the piss at Australia for their "So where the bloody hell are you?" tourism campaign.
Though I am pretty certain "get lost" means the same in Australia as the rest of the world.
And with our tiny size, I am not sure if it is possible to get lost here either.

For those who feel that the "get lost" tagline is almost as cute as "So where the bloody hell are you", I would have to ask you when was the last time a Singaporean told you to get lost and meant it as an encouragement to go out and explore.

Also, if an Australian gets lost in Singapore, it is an insult to the efficient Singapore public transportation system and the hard work by the Land Transport Authority to marked every road and street with signs so nobody can get lost in Singapore.

Even if you reach the end of the road and see the sea, just make a u-turn and you will be back in a jiffy.

So to Singapore Tourism Board, get lost! I mean it as words of encouragement, really!
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Comments

Anonymous said…
lol. i guess that's why the ad is not targetted at singaporeans/asians?

a lot of my aussie/ang moh friends/english educated friends actually use it in jest? the sense of humour is in general more sarcastic. just saying....
March 12, 2012 at 3:52 PM
Aaron Koh said…
I agree it is not targeted at Singaporeans or Asians.

Even if it targeted at Aussie, us Singaporeans don't use the tagline "Get lost" at all... The context, got lost, in the messaging.

Most tourists would like to explore the country as it is or advertised the country as it is.. So Aussie say Bloody so often that us, tourists, expect them to say that when we visit Australia...

So when you show an ad of Singaporeans adopting an Aussie accent to say get lost to tourist, is that what the tourist expect from Singaporeans?
March 12, 2012 at 4:03 PM
Cheap Hotels said…
ha nice article aaron!
January 23, 2013 at 6:38 PM
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