Richard Tan is used to unconventional challenges. After a career in communications in the Singaporean Government, he has made a country sing, told them to get married and asked them to speak Mandarin.
The head of communications at Singapore Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is also the man behind one the most feted ads to come out of Singapore this year. The ‘Funeral’ spot, which depicts a wife delivering a eulogy at her husband’s funeral and describing the tiny, embarrassing details of their life together, has received rave reviews. The goal is to coax Singaporeans to look beyond the obvious when choosing a life partner. It’s a long way from standard-issue Government marketing.
The head of communications at Singapore Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is also the man behind one the most feted ads to come out of Singapore this year. The ‘Funeral’ spot, which depicts a wife delivering a eulogy at her husband’s funeral and describing the tiny, embarrassing details of their life together, has received rave reviews. The goal is to coax Singaporeans to look beyond the obvious when choosing a life partner. It’s a long way from standard-issue Government marketing.
The middle aged bureaucrat explains that Singapore’s authorities have come a long way in the type of campaign they run. “Now we drill down to the soul of the people and tell the stories of their life. We have started to say this is what we really are and this is how we need to progress and improve. We are holding a mirror to society”.
Tan is well qualified to comment on the changing face of Government ads - he has been of one of the pioneers. In 1984, as a young officer in the Defence Ministry, he pushed for the appointment of an external creative agency for the first time in the history of Government accounts. At that time, all creative work was done in-house by agencies. The result was a defence campaign with a budget of S$1 million (US$686,000) and taglined ‘Total defence’. It was a sign of things to come.
Another campaign close to his heart is the push in 1986 to make Singaporeans sing the national song, a campaign launched during his time at Ministry of Communications and Arts. “It’s been 20 years since that campaign was launched but every year on national day and every day in school the national song is sung. Which means that you can call people to action if you have the right formulae,” he says.
However, he treasures the campaign for far more personal reasons. “At the time it was launched I was not married but I thought that if 20 years from now my children can sing these songs I would have succeeded. And I think I have.”
Following the success of those two campaigns he left the public sector for a series of communications roles, returning to the Government fold in 2007.
Kurt Viertel, group managing director at Leo Burnett Singapore, which worked with Tan on the recent ‘Funeral’ campaign, describes Tan as “a rare breed” due to his capacity for good partnerships and his desire to buy creative work.
“He’s difficult to manage though,” jokes Viertel. “He’s not an easy client in the sense that he sets such high standards. But the passion that he brings to the table and how he intends to build the social fabric of this nation is infectious. And when the work does comes off, it’s usually very rewarding for both sides.”
MCYS’ ad account is complicated as it comprises diverse issues. Categories include youth, community care, sports, family and senior citizen programmes, and they all have sub-categories of their own. The body does not have an agency-of-record and each project is tendered. Tan says that since agencies compete on ideas, this process helps to tap the best concepts and find the right agency. “Even if an agency has won an award for a campaign it is not automatically hired to handle the second one.”
Tan’s return to the Government has coincided with the rise of a new breed of civil servants looking to revitalise Government communications. As one source notes: “One of the trends the Government is picking up is that it shouldn’t speak like the Government.”
Tan attributes this new creativity to an openness in Singaporean society, saying public servants are increasingly receptive to new concepts. “We are open to working with foreign talent and foreign companies, and that really helps. In Malaysia many years ago a law was made that required all TVCs to have 50 per cent Malaysian talent. We didn’t follow because we don’t see how that can promote our own local talent.”
This new approach, says Tan, is now crucial to reach a new generation of Singaporeans. “Youngsters do not want Government to encroach on their territory. I cannot say things like ‘Singapore is our homeland’ or ‘Keep Tokyo clean’,” he says. “If you prescribe to people you fail. You need to show them a slice of life and leave it to them.”
Richard Tan’s CV
2007 Director, communications and international relations, MCYS
2001 Director, corporate communications, Singapore Polytechnic
2000 COO Asia, Screaming Mouse
1997 Vice-president, group communications, MediaCorp
1992 Assistant general manager (corporate advertising), SPH
1990 MD, TASK Communications
1989 Group director (public affairs), Hill & Knowlton Asia, Singapore
1986 Deputy director (psychological defence), Ministry of Communications and Information
1981 Head of planning, research and development (national education and public affairs), Ministry of Defence