Sales, Social and Tech

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 t...

Samsung recently mocked those who were stuck in a long queue for the iPhones, but the last laugh is on Samsung Galaxy S phone and tab users. It seems Samsung Galaxy S phone and tab users will be stuck with the 2.2 Gingerbread or 2.3 Froyo Android version for many years to come, even when Google is set to launch the Ice-Cream Sandwich version anytime soon. Wrote Business Insider, " Samsung  won't be rolling out an update to  Ice Cream Sandwich , Google's latest mobile operating system, for the Galaxy S and  Galaxy Tab  tablet because the devices don't have enough memory to run both ICS and Samsung's custom TouchWiz skin." Read more:   http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-says-no-ice-cream-sandwich-upgrade-for-galaxy-s-and-galaxy-tab-owners-2011-12#ixzz1hWK5EJDx Karma is a real bitch.

A SBS Transit took a different turn, as instructed by SBS Transit HQ, and got lost in the process. When passengers offered to advise the Bus Captain, the Bus Captain highlighted that he should follow instructions from HQ. As s a result, passengers affected were stuck in the bus for 2 hours. While many Singaporeans pinpointed the fact that it was a Foreign Talent PRC behind the wheel, the whole incident reminded me of the No U-Turn Syndrome, or NUTS, as coined by Singapore's entrepreneur and founder of Creative, Mr Sim Won Hoo. From Wikipedia , No U-Turn Syndrome  ( NUTS ) is a term first coined by  Singaporean  entrepreneur  Sim Wong Hoo , to prominently describe the social behaviour of  Singaporeans  having a mindset of compliance to higher authorities before proceeding with any action. In his book  Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium , he uses a comparison of  traffic rules  in Singapore to those found overseas...

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They say offense is the best defense. London Weight Management, on the other hand, dug itself further into a PR nightmare with its statement defending their ad. By doing so, London Weight Management lost an opportunity to score some PR points from the negative audience. It all started when TV host Anita Kapoor blogged that the London Weight Management’s TV advertisement “portray women as pathetic, unworthy individuals. Losers on every level if they are overweight; winners at every level if they are slim”. London Weight Management Capsule from Stan Chee on Vimeo . Anita also summarized each scene of the ad. For example, she wrote that the scene showing “a woman with a crying baby, looking over the edge of a building’, created the impression that post partum depression and suicide were being trivialised. Anitia’s post was reblogged at The Online Citizen and the readers got extremely worked up by how London Weight Management portrayed obese women. It took awhile for London...

Viewers’ Choice 2009 is on again and the winners for this year is quite predictable, especially for the local category. Obvious Local Winner: Funeral by MCYS There is no doubt that Funeral by the late director Yasmin Ahmad will win Viewer’s Choice 2009 as it is definitely the viewers’ choice. Underdogs Local Winners: Tiger Beer’s Guys How can a beer ad not win viewer’s choice? Scores high for the special effect but the final element of beer goggles making you see your best bud as an attractive lady is kind of a turn-off. Sure Win International TV Commercial – Walk in Fridge Heineken My sure winner is Heineken Beer ad about the walk in fridge. It spoofs every women’s dream of a walk in closet. The other ads don’t create that recall value as this ad. Underdogs International Winner: Cadbury Chocolate – Eyebrows How can you say no to kids with amazing eyebrows? I say Cadbury Eyebrows is quite entertaining and hilarious for an ad. To find out how to vote, cli...