DBS assembles choir to put a twist to classic 'Rasa Sayang' song

DBS has released its own rendition of the classic “Rasa Sayang” song as part of the DBS PayLah! campaign to celebrate and champion hawkers. Released ahead of the National Day celebrations, DBS’ rendition titled “Food is Power”, is performed by its very own hawker choir named “The Hawker Sayangs”.

Shot at a hawker centre, the film features the everyday interactions that locals share with hawkers with the use of light-hearted and comical lyrics. Some examples of the lyrics used include “I miss her shouting my order – KOPI C SIEW SIEW DAI PENG” and “I might not be her only sayang, but I love her Nasi Padang anyway”. Although DBS PayLah! has long supported hawker culture, this is the first time DBS has assembled a choir to perform a song for a campaign.

The film was produced in partnership with The Secret Little Agency (TSLA), and will run on social, digital, cinema and out-of-home channels. 

“DBS remains a strong advocate and supporter of our hawkers who have, for generations, nourished our stomachs and spirits. So, it felt like the right moment for DBS PayLah! to create this just in time for National Day, paying tribute to the very people who make our life in Singapore so delicious. This is just part of our efforts to support their lives and livelihoods and at the same time preserve the hawker culture,” said Bee Bee Lim, head of customer management and marketing, DBS Bank.

“National Day is a time where we come to celebrate our nation and the people that make Singapore, home. We chose to create this special rendition of ‘Rasa Sayang’ - a song familiar and known to so many of us - to express how dearly we hold our hawkers to our hearts, and drive resonance to the powerful, real moments that we have amassed through our love for hawker food,” added a spokesperson from The Secret Little Agency.

Early this year, DBS also partnered with TSLA to launch a separate campaign titled “E-ver-y-thing is in or-derrrr” to celebrate the virtues of effortless banking. The three-month-long campaign immersed viewers in the day-to-day activities of a heroine who, thanks to DBS digibank and PayLah, is able to live her life to the utmost.

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