The video – which was posted on the official Singapore government Youtube channel – is a high-production PSA in the form of a music video of a Chinese uncle urging Singaporeans to go get vaccinated.
It’s very colourful. Sleek. Has matching sets that keep changing and background dancers choreographed for each set. Basically, solid music video aesthetics all around.
Oh, and the entire thing is a rap song.
“I think the art direction looks good,” I replied to my friend. “But the rapping is horrendous.”
The text was a sort of test. An expat friend of hers had apparently seen the ad and called it totally awful.
“How can anyone take this seriously?” the expat friend had said.
“Do you agree with her assessment then?” my friend asked. “Because we (the locals) think it’s hilarious!”
Turns out, the rapping Chinese uncle is Phua Chu Kang – which most of you reading this probably already know.
To the uninitiated, Phua Chu Kang is the titular character from the very popular Singaporean sitcom which ran from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s.
“We all grew up with Phua Chu Kang,” my friend said. “We love the characters, and the government is banking on that.”