Havas Group SG injects laughter back in SG homes with local comedians and stars

Ahead of National Day, Havas Group SG has teamed up with Singapore’s late night comedy talk show, The Rishi Report, to launch a livestream series, "Comedians’ Star Charity". From 4 through 9 August 2021, Havas Group is inviting all to stay home and laugh for a good cause with “Comedians’ Star Charity” hosted by Budhrani. The six shows will be streamed live every night at 9 pm on Budhrani's Facebook page and YouTube channel, and will culminate in a series finale on 9 August 2021, Singapore’s 56th National Day. Each episode will be approximately half an hour long with the final episode culminating to an hour.

The conversations will be light-hearted and will include performances by local stars such as Yung Raja, ALYPH, Fakkah Fuzz, Kumar, Sharul Channa, XiXi Lim, Judee Tan, Gurmit Singh, Benjamin Kheng, Irene Ang, and Siti Khalijah. While Havas Group SG came out with the concept and idea, the delivery will be done via the Rishi Report show. As a nod to 2021’s National Day Parade (NDP) theme “Together, Our Singapore Spirit”, the initiative aims to give back to the local community by raising SG$100,000 in the month of August for nine local beneficiaries of the guests’ choice.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Budhrani explained that the stars were chosen based on their understanding, opinion and appreciation of local news and culture. "I've personally worked with some of the artistes we will be featuring in the past, and we've had great chemistry. There are a lot of great artistes in Singapore and unfortunately, we couldn't work with all of them due to the limited time frame, but the artistes featured are some of whom I really respect and have always wanted to work with," he added. 

Budhrani shared that the artistes come from all walks of life with different skills to add variety to the segment beyond just stand-up comedy. He added that the format and concept will be similar to his Rishi Report Live shows with live audience interaction.

“The opportunity to team up with Havas Group came at the perfect timing for us to give back to the community while doing what we love. We had physical live shows that unfortunately had to be cancelled during the National Day weekend due to the Heightened Alert," said Budhrani. “So we’re really excited to create something fun for people to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes over the long weekend, and interact with our audiences, and most importantly, raise funds for some beneficiaries in dire need during this tough period.”

"It was truly inspiring how Havas stepped up to support us in this and the agency has always been supportive of the work that we've done in the past," Budhrani added, explaining that the team at Havas has always kept a constant flow of communication with artistes such as himself to support, or get its clients to support, as sponsors for the show. He added:

Havas had an idea. I had an idea. And we just came together to create something great.

Nominated beneficiaries include the Singapore Heart Foundation, Free Food For All Limited, Kampung Senang Charity & Education Foundation, Circle of Friends Limited, PAVE, Migrant Workers’ Assistance Fund, MILK Fund, New Hope Community Services, and Club Rainbow. During the shows, audiences are encouraged to make a donation via Giving.sg, where they may find out more about each nominated beneficiary and the cause that they champion.

“This initiative is one that is close to our hearts. At Havas Group, we pride ourselves on continuously being a meaningful brand and organisation," said Jacqui Lim, chief executive officer of Havas Media Group Singapore and chief integration officer of Havas Group Singapore.

She added that the pandemic has been tough for many, particularly affecting local businesses, artistes and talents as well as the communities at large. "With the recent return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), we could really sense even more frustrations and despair from the communities. This really motivated us to seek a platform to unite the communities, our local artistes and our industry together, using humour as the unifying currency to stand in solidarity and celebrate the Singapore spirit while raising funds for our local beneficiaries this National Day,” she added.

Lim added that the Singapore market is brimming with local talent and the agency wanted to do its part in supporting both aspiring and established artists. She added:

As part of our communications offering including media, social and PR, we work with many of these talents and content creators. In addition, we wanted to bring some entertainment to our nation during these trying times, and support as many communities as we can.

As such, the partnership came as a full circle. When asked how long the idea had been in the works, Lim explained that the Comedians’ Star Charity idea was conceptualised and produced in just five days between the Havas Group and Budhrani's team.

"It’s been an eye-opening experience bringing the idea to life, not just one show but six daily shows culminating with a finale on National Day. The passion and can-do Singapore spirit of the teams really made this meaningful initiative possible and we hope to bring some joy and raise funds for our beneficiaries this National Day," she said.

While Havas declined to comment on the monetary investment, it said the effort was a "collective investment from the Havas Group including the team resources invested to create the idea and marketing assets to support this meaningful initiative."

"We hope that The Comedians’ Star Charity will bring some joy and raise funds for our beneficiaries this National Day."

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