NZ and Singapore Are Running Quirky Vaccine Ads, So Why Isn’t Australia?

Dispelling myths the right way.

This week, two of the world leaders in coronavirus prevention and curve flattening—Singapore and New Zealand—have taken a necessary step to stop COVID in its tracks in the most wholesome way.

In a bid to get their countries back to normal, New Zealand and Singapore have started running ads encouraging each of their populations to go get the coronavirus jab.

Love, love, love this! Ka kite, covid. 😁

— Kim Forrester (@IamKimForrester) May 2, 2021

Both New Zealand and Singapore have had under 40 COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic started. Now, they've got Aussies wondering why we haven’t run any catchy ads to get people on board for the vax.

As of writing this article, Singapore has administered 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, and New Zealand have administered just over 230,000.

Australia has also recently hit their 2 million doses mark, however, we have five times the population of each Singapore and New Zealand, so we’ve got a much longer way to go.

If you haven’t seen the catchy ads yet, let’s break them down a bit and give you the goss on why so many Aussies want something similar.

What’s in the vaccine ads?

Starting off with the New Zealand ad, the minute long video called "Ka kite COVID" shows several groups of people from different age groups, genders and backgrounds all cheering the downfall of COVID.

The punchy video shares a catchy positive line from a healthcare worker that really hits hard.

“You know what this is? It's the metaphorical door to freedom,” the healthcare worker says in the video.

It’s almost a celebratory diss track to COVID, and we love it.

Now onto Singapore’s ad. While they took a slightly different approach, it’s no less quirky than NZ's version.

Starring 1990’s Singaporean sitcom character, Chu Kang, the video is a myth-busting, high tempo singalong that boasts the benefits and safety of the vaccine. It even features cute lyrics at the bottom of the frame.

Singapore’s ad is also super colloquial, and read in Singlish—Singapore’s distinctive mixed dialect of English, Chinese, Malaysian and Tamil.

"Better get your shot, steady pom pi pi," Kang says in the jingle.

Why do both ads hit the mark?

Aside from being totally unique, both videos do a great job at representing their target audiences and conveying their message.

Director of the Sydney Health Literacy Lab at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health Kirsten McCaffery told the ABC that using humour and everyday language is a good way to clearly communicate to a large market.

I was laughing and cheering and then I got all choked up seeing the two bros hongi for a long minute. 💜 #KaKiteCOVID https://t.co/MgDyR6yK1k

— jess banks (@ProfBanks) May 3, 2021

She also touches on the excellent way in which both videos challenge potential barriers to people getting the vaccine.

"Importantly they address important barriers in creative ways and pay attention to some issues we know are important from the research evidence," she told the ABC.

When are we getting our fun vax ad?

Well, we do already have an ad, but it’s not exactly as fun as the NZ or Singapore ones.

Back in January, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that the federal government would be rolling out a $24 million advertising campaign for the vaccine, but the reality is that it’s much more serious and bland.

In fact, it features senior government advisors and officers. Snore.

Considering they did such a dodgy job with their milkshake consent vid, maybe they could try and redeem themselves with a new vax ad, just sayin'.

Either way, fingers crossed these ads encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we’ll be re-watching NZ and Singapore’s ads to get the fun kind of encouragement.

Header Image: YouTube (@uniteagainstcovid-19)