Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Stop the Drama is all about changing culture from the inside. An integral part of that involved educating and empowering future writers, directors and actors to portray only authentic heart attack symptoms in their projects. To that end, we launched a short film competition in collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic's School of Visual Communication & Media Arts. The faculty's student teams wrote, directed and shot films, each featuring authentic heart attack symptoms at the heart of their stories. All entries were shared on social media.

Background

SITUATION 7 in 10 people can't recognise when a heart attack is happening. This is, in no small part, thanks to how the movie industry has portrayed heart attacks since the birth of TV - overdramatic chest-clutching, staggering about and collapsing. The reality is, a heart attack can often be accompanied by subtler symptoms. But because these symptoms don't make for good TV, they're never shown. BRIEF & OBJECTIVES We not only had to create awareness of the full range of heart attack symptoms, we had to convince the people responsible for shaping our behaviour to change too.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Stop the Drama aims to debunk stereotypical heart attack symptoms by showing, for the first time, what they really look like. We invited five unsuspecting young actors to a masterclass with one of Singapore's most respected actors. They were not told what to expect. With coaching, their stereotypical depictions of heart attacks became more true to life. The masterclass was then cut into shorter online films, with the full range of heart attack symptoms. On World Theatre Day, directors, writers and actors across the region pledged to Stop the Drama by only portraying authentic heart attack symptoms in their future projects. We also launched a short film competition to inspire the future generation of filmmakers to Stop the Drama.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

A Manulife study (2019) found that misconceptions about heart attack symptoms was pervasive among Singaporeans, cutting across demographics. As a result, our target audience was broad: 15 - 49 year olds, males and females. We also consulted a cardiologist from the Singapore Heart Centre, who stressed the need for a realistic look at heart attack symptoms to debunk the dangerous myths surrounding heart attacks. From our research, we found that culture is shaping our behaviour. So we had to change culture from the inside.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Stop the Drama ran from 1 - 31 March 2019, in three phases: tease, launch and engage. Two videos of a voxpop (or pedestrian interview) as well as an interview with a cardiologist were uploaded onto social media channels on 1 March. The Stop the Drama masterclass video was launched on 11 March, alongside cutdown videos featuring the full range of symptoms on social media. A testimonial video and social media quiz were also launched at the same time. From 25 March onwards, video posts featuring directors, writers and actors pledging to Stop the Drama were shared on social media channels.

List the results (30% of vote)

Films: 4.6 million total views in a country of 5.6 million Earned media: S$600,000 PR value: S$143,000 Awareness: +8.8% WOM exposure: +38% Buzz: +43% (Source: YouGov)

Please tell us about the social behaviour and/or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

As written above, a Manulife-sponsored study (2019) looked at how Singaporeans thought a heart attack looked like, then tunneled into where they received this information from. We found the root of the problem: TV shows and movies were influencing the way we think of heart attacks. After which, we consulted a cardiologist from the Singapore Heart Centre on the full range of symptoms that accompany a heart attack.