Title | The Life-Saving Pot |
Agency | TBWA\Singapore |
Campaign | The Life-Saving Pot |
Advertiser | Manulife |
Brand | Manulife Singapore |
Date of First Broadcast/Publication | 2017 / 11 |
Business Sector | Insurance |
Story | Can beautiful plant pots protect your home from Zika-carrying mosquitoes? In a revolutionary step in the fight against mosquitoes, Manulife has created the Life-Saving Pot, a world’s first plant pot that doubles as a mosquito repellent to prevent deadly mosquitoes from breeding in homes. What can a special paint, ceramics and traditional paintwork create? In this photo series, experience the wonderful journey which melds art, age-old traditions and technology to combat a long existing concern in Singapore. |
Philosophy | Manulife Singapore worked with TBWA\Singapore to create handcrafted plant pots in three different sizes with three unique designs. The creation melds art, age-old traditions and technology to combat a long-standing concern in Singapore. The pots are first fired at The Dragon Kiln, one of the last surviving wood-fire brick kilns in Singapore. Unlike modern day gas and electric kilns, the ashes from the wood react to create unpredictable finishes that make each pot one-of-a-kind. Once the pots have cooled, they are layered with two coats of the mosquito-repelling paint. Each Life Saving Pot is then brought to life by traditional ceramic artist, Shee Bee Heo, formally trained at Ming Village Ceramics. Over several months, she painstakingly painted the designs on each pot by hand. Her swift and elegant ink strokes come from over 30 years of experience and dedication to ceramics and traditional Chinese painting. At first glance, the pots appear to be intricately painted, traditional Chinese-style works of art. A very different story is revealed on closer inspection: the delicate flowers upon the long, fine branches depict fallen mosquitoes, with their upturned wings resembling petals. |
Problem | Mosquitoes may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of murderous animals. But the buzzing pests cause hundreds of millions of deaths and infections around the world each year. They’ve even been labelled the world’s deadliest animal by the World Health Organisation. With last year’s Zika outbreaks and an increasing number of dengue cases, Singapore has been looking for new ways to reduce mosquito populations. These range from identifying areas most at risk using data and machine learning to releasing bacteria-carrying male mosquitoes that mate with females to produce eggs that do not hatch. |
Media Type | Case Study |
Length | |
Copywriter | Kenneth Choong |
Copywriter | Claudia Ribeiro |
Executive Creative Director | Gary Steele |
Executive Creative Director | Hagan de Villiers |
Creative Group Head | Tattoo Yar |
Creative Director | Jimmy Neo |
Art Director | Weicong Chong |
Account Director | Nastasha Gotangco |
Offline Editor | Janice Tan |
Editing Company | SixToes.TV |
Digital Imaging | Raul Davadilla |
Sound Recordist | Nizlan Sani |
Music and Sound Company | Betaphats studios |
Project Manager | Melvin Ong |
Producer | Una Yoon |
Photography production | Teo Studio Photography, Singapore |
Cameraman | Raquel Ang |
Talent Manager | Shee Bee Heo |
Talent Manager | Tan Teck Yoke |