Ogilvy Singapore and Central Narcotics Bureau use escape rooms to teach youth to reject drugs

According to a recent campaign survey by the Central Narcotics Bureau, 1 in 2 youths in Singapore said it would be difficult to reject drugs if offered in a social setting. This went up to 62% (3 in 5 youths) when asked if they might feel personally pressured and influenced to try drugs in social settings. This coupled with other studies show growing permissiveness and openness of Singaporean youth towards drugs, is the inspiration for Ogilvy Singapore’s latest campaign for Central Narcotics Bureau – Uninfluenced.

A three-year public education effort, Uninfluenced is focused on empowering youths to remain uninfluenced when it comes to drugs as they face challenges on multiple fronts including misleading information from pro-drug narratives. The campaign launches today with a week-long immersive escape room activation at Stamford Arts Centre. Titled The Trip: What Happened in Larspura, the activation uses the fictional story of Ben and his trip to a mystery destination Larspura to highlight the different pervasive influences that can negatively impact an individual and lead one to cultivate a more open and permissive attitude towards drugs.

Stamford Arts Centre was transformed into three expansive and immersive escape rooms each spotlighting a different type of negative influence – peer, social and cultural – inviting youth to engage through gameplay and interactions with non-player characters. Beyond engaging youth in immersive gameplay through the escape rooms, the activation also consists of peer-facilitated debrief, where youth facilitators help participants process what they experienced in each room.

For CNB, this activation is an opportunity to invite Singaporeans to join the important conversation on the harms of drug abuse, so that we share a strong collective vision to build a resilient drug-free society, which remains uninfluenced amidst a worsening global drug situation.

Escape room: Ben’s Brain.

Escape room: The Birthday Party.

Escape Room: Operation Larspura.

“Uninfluenced is designed to spark reflection to engage the new generation of youths navigating a world saturated with misleading information from pro-drug narratives. We believe that this generation of youths has the ability to think critically and this new campaign is a call for them to exercise that cognitive ability to glean information and come to decisions that truly resonate with them and their generation. Across the next three years, CNB hopes to empower youths and key stakeholders to become more competent in effective conversations: conversations that have the ability to prevent others from forming an inclination towards drug abuse, and conversations that offer support to those who may be vulnerable to the influence of drugs,” said Director of Communications, CNB, Audrey Ang.

For Ogilvy, this campaign presented a unique challenge and opportunity to engage youth on a complex and unappealing topic.

Debrief room with peer-facilitated activities.

“We came up with an immersive role-playing experience which got young people exploring the inside of a disoriented drug-abuser’s mind, and even the operations of an insidious offshore pharma-company. It was an ambitious endeavour that involved world- creation, set-builds, and game-design, eventually brought to life with talented up-and- coming young actors. And the fact that we had to open extra slots due to being fully-booked out, was truly encouraging,” said Troy Lim, Group Creative Director, Ogilvy Singapore.

“We wanted to pivot away from public education communications that told youth what to do. Traditional anti-drug campaigns focused on the negative impact of drugs, we saw a strategic opportunity to instead focus on the influences that can distort your view when it comes to drugs. By doing so, we want youth to discover for themselves the power of negative influence and learn how to navigate these influences to remain drug-free,” said Shirley Tay, Chief Client Officer, Ogilvy Singapore.

The on-ground activation is free for the public at Stamford Centre runs from 28 February till 6 March at the Stamford Arts Centre, and it will continue with a national marketing campaign that will launch in March 2025.

Credits
Client: Central Narcotics Bureau
Audrey Ang, Director, Communications Division
Lydia Kung, Assitant Director, Community Partnership, Communications Division
Rachel Tan, Senior Executive, Public Communications, Communications Division
Gladys Lee, Senior Executive, Public Communications, Communications Division
Creative & PR Agency: Ogilvy Singapore
Troy Lim, Group Creative Director
Sudhir Pasumarty, Creative Director
Rachel Chew, Associate Creative Director
Zac Tan, Senior Art Director
Udit Goswami, Junior Copywriter
Shanghao Chen, Associate Creative Director
Alan Choong, Associate Creative Director
Erwin Nah, Director, Agile Newsroom Creative, PR & Influence
Joanne Fong, Junior Art Director, Agile Newsroom Creative, PR & Influence
Shirley Tay, Chief Client Officer
Stacy Tan, Account Manager
Yong Shi Yun, Group Account Director
Frederick Tong, Group Strategy Director
Zhang Wei Tian, Senior Strategist
Wong Yan Ting, Strategy Director
Tan Chin Hong, Senior Associate
Ada Tong, Director, PR & Influence
Madeline Tan, Manager, PR & Influence
Natasha Loh, Associate, PR & Influence
Lu Wei Xian, Assistant
Partner Agencies:
Event agency: Motion For Impact
Hajar Manaf, Chief Experience Officer
Angelin Chua, Senior Producer
Faz Zainodin, Production Director
Ira Noorman, Producer
Nahlah Alsree, Creative/Stylist
Qistina Rifqah, Event Manager
Eugene Ang, Event Executive
Darelene Tan, Event Executive
Production partner: Hogarth WorldWide Singapore
Marq Wong, Senior FA Artist
Tan Aik Leng, Head of Art
Joy Lee, Project Manager