The Singapore Police Force and Clear Channel challenge the norm of ‘elderly advertising’

‘Elderly advertising’ is still lacking in appeal and struggles to shift away from tendencies that oversimplify and generalise the matured demographic. Advertisers need to become more aware of paying attention to attitudes rather than the age.

Traffic Police’s elderly campaign steps up to the challenge to change the perception of seniors often portrayed as non-tech savvys. The initiative delivers a message for the elderly to step-forward to take action themselves in understanding how big an impact their health has on their safety on the roads.

The campaign execution on Clear Channel calls out to the elderly with a larger-than-life creative, portraying a Road Master kung-fu-like character demonstrating agility and wisdom. A conversation starter, the creative is a large dispenser displaying, “Are you a Road Master” targeted to senior commuters and pedestrians.

With the senior ez-link card or the new silver PAssion concession card, a testing kit is dispensed when scanned. The kit contains three tests, with instructions in four languages, allowing seniors to test their sight, hearing and reflexes. Besides checking how quickly they can catch a falling object, seniors will be asked to hold an illustration of a busy road at arm’s length while wearing an eye-patch to evaluate their peripheral vision, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. For hearing, seniors are asked to answer 10 questions in a hearing questionnaire based on the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly.

“Older consumers have seen many forms of advertisements and they are savvy. They don’t want to be patronised. They want information delivered to them engagingly, so let the advertisements speak to them and let them make the decision. Our collaboration with the Traffic Police delivered the exact intended outcome,” said Amanda Woo, Head of Marketing, Clear Channel Singapore.

The special creative dispenser is deployed at high traffic locations outside Outram MRT, Bishan North and NEX shopping mall, boosted by 150 6-sheet and Display Sheet posters islandwide.