Key Pages
- |Changes [Feb 26, 2009]
The camera
1415.mpg
This TV commercial was released in 1994, and through the eyes and guidance of the Singapore Girl, the viewer is treated to soaring, flowing 360-degree views of natural landscapes from all over the world. She traverses on her soft, unintruding footsteps through snowy mountains, glaciers, houses atop mountains, the desert and its animals, cliffs over looking the vast ocean, thundering waterfalls, gentle streams and endless rivers, and the images are blended in with the figure and face of the mystical Singapore Girl. In rhythm and harmony with the music, she walks gently and acceptingly across the cliffs, and viewers see a silhouette of her twirling around with outstretched arms, doing what a child would do to imitate the flying motion of an airplane. The viewers follows her footsteps (=the airlines movements) in experiencing the relaxed smoothness of her "soaring" all over the world, and through this can anticipate the experience the commercial suggests they can enjoy. The last words echoed airily are "Singapore Air"--full of broad vowels and sung in such a tone that matches the smooth transitions of scenery showed during the earlier one minute of the commercial. The Singapore Girl's last smile on the screen again "persuades" the viewer that this is an experience, not transport.
(2) 1540.mpg
This TV commercial was also released in 1994, and like the first one again through the experience of the Singapore Girl guides the viewer from the exciting, colourful bright neon sign boards of a Chinese city very soon into the world of traditional, ordinary, simple but culturally rich lives led by villagers. The music starts out on a fast beat to match with the pace of urban lifestyles, then switches to a slower tempo as images of ancient sculptures and jewelry sold by an old village lady emerge. The Singapore Girl bows her head in respect when interacting with the old village lady, as she would to a flight passenger, and these simple moments are enveloped by images of children striking bells and exciting, colourful theatrical village dances. The colours and rhythm of the city are rivalled by the colours and vivacity of the village people, and again, the Singapore Girl's traversing of these two worlds signifies her symbolic representation of the airline that brings together geographically and culturally distant points of the world and of a region together. The singing by a male voice in the end is not too clear but it repeats her name, "Singapore Girl" twice, sounding out everyone's adoration of her warm, sincere and attentive personality.
In this 1993 commercial, we are taken once again through soaring, flowing views of the New York City sky scrapers, the Statue of Liberty, roads filled with cars that form part of city life, and the shimmering ocean, all basking in the golden rays of the setting sun. The camera eventually comes to rest on a smiling Singapore Girl standing in front of the fantastic panorama capturing the city at dusk, during which she raises her distinctly Asian parasol to her shoulder which makes her stand out against the Western landscape.
Parts of the music played in this 1993 commercial promoting the new and world's fastest flight from Singapore to New York uses the melody used at the end of the second commercial in a Chinese setting. The setting for this commercial, however, is New York City, and the consistency of the Asian-style music across both Chinese and American settings, as well as the consistent appearance of the enduring, familiar sarong kebaya-clad Singapore Girl, indicates that SIA is proud of its deep Asian roots. Despite exposure to different cultures, the airline and its stewardess retains the culture's (and naturally the company's) core values whilst learning from diversity and providing access to distant worlds.
This last commercial's release date is unknown, but the article (Phan, n.d.) suggests that it was released after the September 11 incident. The travel industry was hit hard all over the world, suffering greatly in business revenue and profits. SIA's brand was shaken and ignored, as were the brands built by other carriers. Moreover, the South East Asia has been burdened with economic and political troubles, with stock markets showing continued weakness, poor consumer demand, weak corporate spending, increasing corporate insolvencies and individual bankruptcies, and regional troubles, and terrorist activity in the region.
Instead of shrinking operations, SIA like other airlines such as Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific advertised and promoted aggressively to restore the strength of their brands. While Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific rejuvenated their branding, SIA continued using its tried and tested imagery of the Singapore Girl, which can be seen in the TV commercial promoting the Krisworld in-flight entertainment system. SIA's philosophy was sound because since many still identify with the Singapore Girl, it breeds familiarity and comfort. Here, the stewardess from modern times quells the anger of a rampaging gorilla, which brings to mind the King Kong, the 1933 film of a prehistoric gorilla and other old films based on similar themes, such as Godzilla. The juxtaposition of old and new--of classic films and the sophistication and advancing of technology--arouses feelings of nostalgia balanced by feelings of security for the future and present based on the reminder that technology advances but also preserves and has the ability to revive old memories and history with much graphic realism. Its overall message is that of assurance, perhaps commenting on the precarious state of the contemporary world that can still be salvaged with history and tradition. But history and tradition can also be preserved with advances in technology, hence the commercial portrays a happy marriage of the two. The familar, comforting, and enduring image of the elegant Singapore Girl that calms the gorilla is what provides the sense of assurance. If our dear Singapore Girl can appeal to our emotions to assure us that our past is secure, and our future is promising, what more could we ask for?
Besides selling the feelings of assurance, the commercial is promoting a journey through nostalgia and classic excitement of the past, in other words, an emotional, sensory experience. The dear Singapore Girl assures you that on board the SIA fleet, you be able to relive the past realistically through the countless film and other media selections offered along with the quality Dolby sound system.
The first three commercials were retrieved on May 18, 2005 from "The Night of the Adeaters" website: http://www.adeater.com/bin/view.cgi?/usr2/internet/www/adeater/welcome2.html,1,ZurlW/MULTI/html/cinema.htmlZ
The last commercial was retrieved on May 18, 2005 from All About Branding.com website: http://allaboutbranding.com/index.lasso?article=282
