Brand filters and AR lenses dominate National Day celebration this year

As with everything else this year, National Day is not going to be the same for Singapore. Due to COVID-19 and social restrictions, the annual National Day Parade (NDP) will be scaled down to ensure that Singaporeans maintain safe distancing this 9 August. The decrease in physical activities, however, has not stopped brands from engaging with their consumers digitally. This year, we see brands showing their love for Singapore through digital filters.

Check out some of the brands that created their own filters this year:

Gojek Singapore

The ride-hailing app has created a National Day Instagram filter named “Will Move for Food”. The filter, which has a polka dotted frame animated with the Singapore flag tattoo stickers allows Instagram users to connect with one another through food recommendations or daily food journaling. 

The filter revolves around Singaporeans' love for food, and also features iconic, bite-sized elements of GoCar - Gojek’s four-wheel ride-hailing service - to remind users that Gojek provides a convenient, safe and reliable mode of transport for commuters travelling to their favourite restaurants or exploring new food places. The “Will Move for Food” initiative is designed by Gojek’s in-house creative team, and is accessible to all users on Instagram. 

National Heritage Board

National Heritage Board has also joined in the Instagram filter fun with two different filters this National Day. The first filter, titled "NDBeats", allows users to move their heads towards the beats of iconic National Day songs such as "Count on me Singapore", "Stand up for Singapore", and "We are Singapore".

The other filter, titled "ND(face)Paint", changes the background of the users to one with virtual fireworks. It also puts on two face tattoos on users, one with the caption "I love Singapore", with a heart shape in place of "love", while the other captioned "Strength through Heritage", which is the tagline of National Heritage Board this National Day. 

Hashtag Interactive

Digital marketing agency Hashtag Interactive created a filter that interacts with users in a "Don't Forget the Lyrics" style. Using a randomiser, the filter will choose one of the iconic National Day song and feature a selected part of the lyrics, followed by blanks to let users complete the song lyrics. Some of the songs include "Home", "Reach out for the Skies", "Where I Belong", and "One People, One Nation, One Singapore".

According to the agency, it believes that National Day celebrations won’t be complete without the National Day songs. Thus it was inspired to create a fun Instagram filter that takes Singaporeans down memory lane with various National Day songs across the years. 

Snapchat

Snapchat has created a National Day augmented-reality (AR) lens that lets users (almost literally) see fireworks. The lens dons on a pair of sunglasses on the users with Singapore's skyline in the background. With a raise of eyebrows, users can then see fireworks set off within the sunglasses. Users can also switch over to their rear camera, and they will see three Merlions appear on the screen.

According to Snapchat, it created the firework lens to let Singaporeans not miss out on their chance to catch the fireworks this year. "For many of us, the highlight of every NDP is always its ending segment: glorious fireworks set against Singapore’s beautiful cityscape. Our best bet this year is to watch it on TV and maybe from our home (if we are lucky). We don’t want you to miss out on this chance, so raise your eyebrows when you are using the National Day AR lens to watch the fireworks against the Singapore skyline," it added.

The social app also features Singapore-themed lenses created by its users on the platform. Users can search terms such as "Singapore" or "Merlion" in the search bar on Snapchat to view a list of lenses that can transport them to attractions in Singapore.

TikTok

Similar to Hashtag Interactive's filter, social app TikTok's National Day filter comes in the form of a randomiser. Done in collaboration with the official National Day Instagram account "NDPeeps", the filter poses the question of "What is your NDP role?" It comes with options such as dancer, choir singer, parade commander, pilot, and even the audience.

Additionally for National Day, TikTok also tied up with GetActive! Singapore to create a workout. The workout is done to a remix version of this year’s National Day Parade’s theme song, “Everything I Am”. This is the fourth consecutive year of the GetActive! Singapore workout. According to TikTok, the workout incorporates signature moves from the past four years of workouts, as well as adaptations from the Great Singapore Workout.

Which brand's filter did you like the most? Let us know at graceo@marketing-interactive.com. Meanwhile, the team at Marketing wishes everyone a very happy National Day!

Enjoyed the story and have some ideas? Share it with us journos in the newsroom! Be part of ourInstagram community to catch the behind the scenes action, industry updates and creative inspiration.

Related Articles:
Analysis: Not just thematic or localised for the sake of it, say brands ahead of National Day
Burger King and Deliveroo piece together iconic SG locations ahead of National Day
Singtel salutes the Majulah spirit with National Day film
Geneco takes an unconventional route handing out vege seeds this National Day