Lynn Lee, Straits Times 4 Jul 08;
IF THEY breed, you bleed. Pay the correct fare or risk paying more. Life is unpredictable, make time for your family.
Welcome to scary Singapore, where public missives urge responsible behaviour by feeding on one's darkest fears - blood, death and running foul of the law.
Yes, the three morbid messages above were crafted with the health and welfare of the population in mind.
No one wants to be afflicted with dengue, so mosquito breeding needs to be stamped out. Weaselling your way out of paying for your bus ride is just cheap and churlish. And it is crucial to make time for loved ones. They're the only family you've got.
So what's stopping agencies tasked to put out these messages from saying it as it is, minus the veiled threats and overtones of doom and gloom?
In the case of the reminder to make time for one's family - an advertisement for National Family Week last year - it came superimposed on a picture of tombstones in a graveyard.
It was definitely eye-catching.
But it didn't leave anyone with the pleasant feelings that usually accompany thoughts of one's loved ones.
It's understandable that hard-hitting, catchy messages are used to promote socially acceptable values and behaviour. People take notice of them. They are easy to remember and will hopefully sink roots into one's psyche.
But there is good reason to think about whether this communication strategy should be used more sparingly.
For one thing, it makes Singapore seem schizophrenic.
We have a slew of campaigns - reminding us to be more courteous and kind, and welcome foreign visitors with 'four million smiles'. Yet, we have no qualms about using fear to promote compliance with basic social norms, such as keeping your home mosquito-free and taking time to hang out with your family.
There are those who feel this style of communication is quintessentially Singaporean.
As a colleague remarked wryly, it stems from a Hobbesian view of our world - that human beings cannot be trusted to do the right thing. They can only respond to strong incentives and disincentives. Hence, the efforts to guide society with deterrence and the looming spectre of punishment.
Sure, the tough-love approach to managing society can come in handy when it comes to repelling extremely anti-social behaviour, like speeding and drink driving. But it loses its edge when used to keep all and sundry in line, like the poster campaign to discourage fare cheats, which is plastered all over public buses these days.
It smacks of the same tough stance taken by London last year, when it rolled out an advertising blitz to remind fare evaders that they risked a criminal conviction.
The principle of the message - if you do not do X, then you will risk Y, which will be a much worse fate than doing X in the first place - is really effective in promoting, say, safe sex.
But I'm not convinced it's the best way to get people to pay for public transport.
Why not appeal to their conscience and sense of fairness, that they should pay the full cost of a worthy product? This approach would square more with our aim for the past two decades - to be a kinder, gentler society.
Already, there are examples of public campaigns which promote civilised behaviour and good values in touching and funny ways. Two noteworthy ones were by the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority to discourage people from getting pets on impulse and to sterilise the pets they have.
Ads for the second campaign had dogs and cats 'suited up' with a condom and with the tagline: You can't teach them to play it safe - sterilise your pet.
In the United States, the Agency for Health-care Research and Quality has been pushing for men to go for regular medical check-ups.
The message is clear: Obesity and high blood pressure are growing health threats. If they are left unchecked, more men will be felled by them. Unable to provide for their families, they will burden the social- safety net.
Yet the doom and gloom is missing from publicity for this initiative. In its place are two video clips on the agency's website, entitled Real Men Wear Gowns.
It shows fathers, husbands and brothers togged out in hospital gowns speaking to their doctors, then living rich and full lives with their families.
In Singapore, we should play more on aspirations and less on punishments when promoting socially acceptable behaviour. This means showing people the benefits of behaving in a certain way.
With hordes of foreigners coming to town for the world events we are set to host, we certainly do not want to be known as a place where people do the right thing only out of fear.
Having that reputation would make Singapore seem a scary place indeed.
