| Title | BLIND. FAITH. |
| Brand | SINGAPORE ASSOCIATION OF THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED |
| Product / Service | PUBLIC SERVICE |
| Category | B04. Non-Corporate |
| Entrant | EURO RSCG SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
| Entrant Company: | EURO RSCG SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
| PR/Advertising Agency: | EURO RSCG SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Ng | Euro RSCG | Chief Creative Officer |
| Kelvin Lim | Euro RSCG | Associate Creative Director |
| Victor Ng/Adrian Sim | Euro RSCG | Copywriters |
| Kelvin Lim/Candice Tang/Farizal Akramhan | Euro RSCG | Art Directors |
| Farizal Akramhan/Darius Shah | Euro RSCG | Editors |
| Eugene Chong | Euro RSCG | Technology Director |
| Chris Loo/Audrey Yap/Grace Chung/Leollyne Teng | Shooting Gallery | Producers |
| Lam Yiren | Shooting Gallery | Director |
| Abdul Hisham Bin Abdul Muin/Adrian Quek/Mohd Fazrin Bin Mohd Affendi | Shooting Gallery | Directors Of Photography |
| Eric Ng | Shooting Gallery | Photographer |
| Joel Ng | Euro RSCG | Production Director |
The Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) was facing two interlinked problems: (1) The public subtly discriminates against the visually impaired as they are perceived to be incapable of integrating with the society. (2) Conversely, the visually impaired generally feel a lack of self-confidence to be useful members of the society. These perceptions cannot be further from the truth. Our insight is blindingly simple: if one cannot see, he hears much better – and that makes him a better listener than those who can see. For the visually impaired, this idea turned their handicap into an asset. We trained 12 visually impaired members of SAVH to become counsellors and set up a phone and home counselling service to the general public – who are oblivious that they were being counselled by someone with a devastating disability. The success of the campaign is best measured by the reactions of those who contemplated suicide and sought counselling. After face-to-face sessions, many were humbled and inspired by their disabled counsellors’ courage to live on. In just one month, our unique counselling service has helped over a hundred people find their way and will to live. But nothing beats having the visually impaired being seen in a completely different light. THE PR VALUE OF THE CAMPAIGN IS ROOTED IN OUR IDEA OF HAVING THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED AS COUNSELLORS BECAUSE THEY LISTEN BETTER -- A WORLD FIRST.
The perceptions about the visually impaired cannot be further from the truth and SAVH wanted to take a definitive step to debunk them. It is widely known to people that the visually impaired have a more acute listening ability -- something we leveraged in our campaign.
The success of the campaign is best measured by the reactions of those who contemplated suicide and sought counselling. After face-to-face sessions, many were humbled and inspired by their disabled counsellors’ courage to live on. In just one month, our unique counselling service has helped over a hundred people find their way and will to live. But nothing beats having the visually impaired being seen in a completely different light.
We trained 12 visually impaired members of SAVH to become counsellors and set up a phone and home counselling service to the general public – who are oblivious that they were being counselled by someone with a devastating disability.
The Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) was facing two interlinked problems: (1) The public subtly discriminates against the visually impaired as they are perceived to be incapable of integrating with the society. (2) Conversely, the visually impaired generally feel a lack of self-confidence to be useful members of the society.
Our insight is blindingly simple: if one cannot see, he hears much better – and that makes him a better listener than those who can see. For the visually impaired, this idea turned their handicap into an asset.