Corporate i wins the pitch to produce a national campaign video that aims to inspire a digital lifestyle in Singapore with ambassador Stefanie Sun.
Contributed By Christal Ong
Filming in progress with Sally Ng (second from left). PHOTO COURTESY OF CORPORATE I
In order to stay relevant to Singapore’s increasingly digitalized lifestyle, the National Library Board rolled out its free reading application known as MobileRead at its annual reading campaign Read! Singapore on June 23.
The application gives iPhone users free access to a selection of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil short stories through iTunes, selected from the last seven years of the annual READ! Singapore campaign. Android phone users can also download the stories through NLB’s existing “Library In Your Pocket” service.
This year’s campaign showcases multi-lingual literary works of 20 Singaporean authors in the form of poems, novels and short stories, including Gone Case by Dave Chua, the first Singaporean work to be adapted as a graphic novel.
READ! Singapore 2011 garnered star power with singer Stefanie Sun, who stars in the campaign video as the MobileRead app ambassador. The video is commissioned by IDA (Infocomm Development Authority) in partnership with National Library Board and produced by Corporate i.
“Corporate i is very proud and honored to be involved in a nationwide production,” says Quek. “The video features people of all ages and lifestyle enjoying digital reading via all types of digital devices—our aim is to inspire the adoption of a mobile reading lifestyle. It’s exciting that our country’s library system is so swift to adapt to digital trends, and we worked hard to put together a video that we believe communicates a progressive mindset that also values reading.”
One of the actresses in the video, Sally Ng, 24, an accounts executive, found the whole experience of filming the video enjoyable. “There was a lot of teamwork and synergy throughout filming,” she recounts.
Her fellow cast member, Gerald Wong, 21, an undergraduate from SMU, believes that the e-reading campaign is important in helping people realize that technology is revolutionizing reading and learning. “Now, a person only needs to carry around one iPad containing hundreds of books offering great convenience and accessibility,” he said. The video will soon be played at MRT stations, public libraries island-wide and at certain info-communication events. It is also available on YouTube under the title “Enjoying A Digital Reading Lifestyle.”
“Over the years, READ! Singapore has steadily expanded its reach to promote reading to the community and create a vibrant reading culture in Singapore. Next year, we hope to extend its reach beyond adults and teenagers to include children. For this year, we have lined up programs such as book discussions, creative writing workshops and meet-the-author sessions over the next three months. We hope that these activities will inspire even more people to take up reading as well as stimulate cross-cultural dialog and interactions within the community,” says Elaine Ng, chief executive officer of NLB.
The public may borrow the selection of novels for READ! Singapore 2011 from NLB’s libraries, or purchase them from MPH bookstores. Audio CDs of selected works will also be available for borrowing. The selected short stories and poems will also be compiled and published into a special READ! Singapore 2011 anthology, which can be borrowed from NLB’s libraries.
READ! Singapore 2011 runs till Sep 28. Log on to http://readsingapore.nlb.gov.sg for more details.
