Singapore scam-awareness TVC ends in tears

The National Crime Prevention Council of Singapore (NCPC), with Ogilvy Singapore, has launched a scam-awareness spot falling under its 'Spot the Signs' campaign.

Far less elaborate than a previous effort (see "Can you predict how this love story will end?"), the simple spot focuses on a young man as he realises that what sounded like an easy online job was in fact a scam that has somehow cost him a lot of money.

The team behind the spot purposely chose not to explain the ins and outs of the scam the fellow has fallen victim to. They argue that a logical approach, although common in anti-scam campaigns, fails to communicate the damage scams cause. So they've opted for communicating a simple message—if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is—and using an emotional punch to drive the message into your brain. 

Ad Nut is all for using a behavioural-science approach to try to compel smart decisions. And Ad Nut likes how the spot juxtaposes the thoughts the guy had while falling for the trick against his evident distress now that he's realised he got duped.

In the end, whether this particular spot works hinges on whether you feel the young man's pain.

And sorry to say, Ad Nut simply didn't. Can't really say why. Maybe Ad Nut is not feeling empathetic today. Maybe Ad Nut was distracted by trying to figure out exactly how the guy lost that much money.

Did it work for you? Hit the feedback button below to let Ad Nut know.

CREDITS

Chief Creative Officer Nicolas Courant / Ogilvy Singapore
Executive Creative Director Troy Lim / Ogilvy Singapore
Associate Creative Director Rachel Chew / Ogilvy Singapore
Senior Art Director Zac Tan / Ogilvy Singapore
Strategy Director Ishita Roy / Ogilvy Singapore
Strategist Swati Shivshankar / Ogilvy Singapore
Managing Director Mitchell Tan / Ogilvy Singapore
Account Director Eunice Lum / Ogilvy Singapore
Program Manager Kai Yao Chua / Ogilvy Singapore
Account Executive Chua Xin Ying / Ogilvy Singapore
Producer Josephine Pang / Chua Ann May / Hogarth Worldwide
Production House : Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Director: Royston Tan / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Executive Producer: Karen Khoo-Toohey / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Asst Producers: Wendy Lie / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Production Manager: Sherilyn Lee / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Director of Photography: Chuck Tham / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Gaffer: Ben Teaw / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Key Grip: David Quek / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Art Director: Samantha Sng / Chuan Pictures Pte Ltd
Casting: Shiny Happy People
Post-Production: Gravitate Post
Offline Editor: Pinky Calica Vierra / Gravitate Post
Colourist: Azman Mohamed / Gravitate Post
VFX Supervisor: Shahril Ahmad / Gravitate Post
VFX Leads: Christopher Malacaman / Gravitate Post
Audio Post: YellowBox Studios / Gravitate Post

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.