Group Eight gets abusive

Singapore - A guerilla stunt by Group Eight made front page news of The New Paper today, when it dressed-up child actors as victims of child abuse complete with fake bruises Boon Lay MRT station.

The stunt, which took place last Saturday, was part of an integrated marketing communications campaign for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) and aimed to send a message out to Singaporeans to be more sensitive and aware to the plight of abused children. The campaign is titled "Please. Don’t Just Stand There. Reach Out".

Organisers of the stunt said when passers by approach the children, a social worker would step in to deliver the key campaign messages. Despite less than 20 people going on to approach the 'abuse victims' in the span of five hours, Group Eight's senior account manager for its event's arm A Group Of People (AGOP), Sheryl Woo said the the show was a "success".

"It reinforced the 'Please. Don’t Just Stand There. Reach Out.' message," she said.

Woo adds, on the day, there were a few complaints about the graphic nature of the stunt but it was explained that the children were in fact actors wearing make-up to illustrate abuse.

As a continuation for the campaign, AGOP plans to execute a carnival event at Hougang Mall this Sunday.

The three agencies from Group Eight which are collaborating to roll out MCYS' latest integrated marketing effort are AGOP, Curiosity and The Advocate Group.