Singapore – The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has teamed up with The Secret Little Agency (TSLA) to launch a youth-focused mental health campaign that takes an empathetic approach to destigmatise mental health support for Singapore’s youth.
Called ‘REAL,’ AIC’s initiative aims to provide tailored mental health support for Singapore’s youth, destigmatise mental health discussions, and create accessible, approachable pathways to support.
Developed in partnership with TSLA, REAL addresses a common mental barrier among youth: the tendency to downplay their mental health struggles and dismiss their need for support. The brand’s mission is to validate young people’s experiences, help them acknowledge their challenges, and empower them to take action while normalising the process of seeking help.
AIC and TSLA crafted REAL’s tone of voice and messaging to connect deeply with youth, fostering a supportive space where they feel seen, heard, and understood.
“With REAL, we wanted to break down the idea that one needs to look or act a certain way to ‘deserve’ help. In a world where mental health is often portrayed in visually homogenous ways, we took a contemporary approach with unique illustrations to portray the very real and complicated emotions and struggles that words or photos often cannot portray,” said Nicholas Ye and Mavis Neo, co-chief creative officers at The Secret Little Agency.
They added, “By focusing on highly contextual placements and modern and varied relatable content that are deeply culturally resonant of mental health struggles in today’s society, REAL offers a way for young people to connect with support systems meaningfully. We’re here to meet them where they are and show them they’re not alone in what they feel.”
As part of the campaign launch, AIC and TSLA have unveiled vibrant, large-scale out-of-home (OOH) installations at key locations across Singapore, including Raffles Place, Bugis Plus, and Singapore Polytechnic. Each installation represents “larger-than-life” emotions, capturing the overwhelming nature of mental health struggles. REAL’s brand world also introduces characters designed to embody complex emotions, making these experiences more relatable and impactful.
Complementing these installations, REAL’s campaign features OOH placements at bus stops and in central business district (CBD) areas, delivering contextual and evocative messages tailored to youth. Digital ads on social media and YouTube cleverly use “skippable” formats to playfully remind young audiences that while they can skip the ads, they cannot skip or ignore their emotions.
Additionally, AIC and TSLA collaborated with popular youth favourites like PlayMade bubble tea and engaged in tactical media buys with Cups Media at tertiary institutions. These efforts extend REAL’s message through creative sticker packs and branded cups, effectively reaching youths in familiar, casual settings where they feel most comfortable.
The campaign also features the short film Burnout, produced in collaboration with Zhao Wei Films and directed by award-winning Singaporean director and writer Nicole Midori Woodford. The film tells a relatable story of young people attempting to suppress their anxieties, only to watch in horror as their worries grow uncontrollably instead of fading away.
A key character from REAL’s brand world, Fyre—a fire illustration symbolising anxiety—stars in the film, which tells the story of a young intern grappling with mental health. The three-minute short premiered at the 5th Edition Mental Health Film Festival Singapore (7-10 November 2024), bringing the REAL campaign’s mission to life.
The REAL initiative is AIC’s answer to the worrying data produced by their commissioned study, where 90% of youths have experienced a mental health challenge in the past 12 months but more than half are not even considering seeking support.
“As mental health continues to impact the lives of youths and young working adults, it’s clear that addressing this challenge requires more than traditional approaches,” said See Yen Theng, chief of the caregiving and community mental health division at AIC.
“REAL represents a shift towards engaging youths and young working adults as we provide the support they need in ways that are accessible, validating, and empathetic. Our goal is for them to know they are not alone and that their mental well-being matters. While recognising their needs, we also offer a wayfinding tool to find nearby community mental health services,” See added.
Before this campaign, AIC partnered with TSLA on the “Break the Silver Ceiling” initiative, which aims to combat ageism, challenge outdated perceptions of ageing, and foster a positive shift in societal attitudes toward seniors.
