Results and Effectiveness

Within two weeks, our web films reached more than 650,000 Singaporeans. A total of 16,788 likes, comments and shares were garnered on Facebook. More importantly, we have returned the spotlight to reading. This culminated in an event at the central library, showcasing the nation’s favourite childhood books. The event was attended by 11,927 visitors, and received national media coverage.

Creative Execution

Instead of simply propagating the importance of reading, we struck a chord with the audience by reminiscing something close to the heart: their very first storybooks. Tapping into every child’s habit of doodling on storybooks, we used these innocent scribbles and sketches to help us reunite old books, with old friends.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The National Library Board needed help to reignite the joy of reading. Which is now a distant memory to grown-ups, due to distractions in the form of social media, console games and drama serials. Nothing brings back the joy of reading like reminiscing one’s childhood books. So we combed second-hand bookstores for forgotten books, and used the scribbles and sketches found on them to trace back their first owners. Through social media, we contacted the unsuspecting book owners, and set the stage for a reunion like no other. The heartwarming scenes were documented and turned into a series of web films. Riding on these films, we put out more children’s books, which found their way to the rightful owners with the help of the online community.