Every High Ends in a Low

journeying through the highs and lows of drug abuse

Singapore is known for having one of the world’s harshest stances on drugs. So harsh, in fact, that getting young people just to talk about drugs and the deeper, underlying reasons that lead to experimenting with them is about as easy as getting teeth pulled by a dentist.

But with softening attitudes towards drugs due to the rise of social media, and how they’re portrayed in mainstream media, it was clear that THAT talk was needed. And there’s no way it could happen with Singapore’s authoritative style of anti-drug messaging, which, in this case, had limited reach and effect on its intended audience, often shutting down conversations instead of encouraging them.

So together with the National Council Against Drug Abuse, we decided to try something new. Instead of preaching at them, we invited young Singaporeans to play.

And see both the highs and lows of drug abuse for themselves within a safe space.

Titled ‘Every High Ends in a Low’, the campaign centred on a first-of-its-kind interactive film called HIGH, created in collaboration with local filmmaker Royston Tan and Chuan Pictures.

We also teamed up with interactive tech platform CtrlMovie to integrate our film with gameplay, placing viewers seamlessly in the shoes of our main character, a young man named Nick, who’s living the Singaporean corporate dream. As Nick, our audience could make decisions and influence the outcome of the story, starting from the moment he matches with a girl named Sienna on a dating app.

Taking HIGH Out of Home

To promote the film, we created an Instagram filter that interacted with on-ground ads. By incorporating an Anaglyph 3D technique, people could choose to see the highs and lows of drugs by toggling between red and blue filters.

With Singapore going through a “circuit-breaker” period that restricted outdoor movement, we turned to social media to reach our target audience, using a variety of customised filters, stickers and quizzes.

Shaping the Future of Anti-Drug Education

The campaign paved the way for on-ground engagement in local schools. Besides the introduction of a card game to help facilitate discussions among students, the interactive film has also been adopted as an educational material in all schools in Singapore.

A special behind-the-scenes film also shares snippets of character backstories through interviews with the cast. It was circulated in schools to encourage students to learn more about drug abuse by playing the interactive film, and making their own decisions.

Accolades

Asian Academy Creative Awards 2020
Grand Final Winner, Best Immersive (360, VR)
National Winner, Best Immersive (360, VR)

Press

Campaign Brief Asia
Dentsu Aegis Network and the National Council Against Drug Abuse Singapore aim HIGH in new 2020 campaign

CNA
Singapore’s first interactive film is a horror story about drug use

Coconuts Singapore
Get ‘HIGH’ on this sexy, Black Mirror-style interactive film by Singaporean director Royston Tan

Marketing Interactive
SG council against drug abuse lets youths make choices on drug issues

Mothership
Interactive film by S’pore filmmaker Royston Tan lets you ‘experience’ debilitating effects of drug abuse

SG Magazine
This new interactive film by Royston Tan depicts the highs and lows of drug abuse

The Drum
National Council Against Drug Abuse uses interactive film to educate Singaporeans on rising drug abuse

The New Paper
No moral HIGH ground taken in first interactive short film

The Straits Times
New interactive film by Royston Tan aims to spark conversations on meth abuse among youth
Interactive short film aims to push anti-drug message

TODAY
New Royston Tan film shows how simple decisions can spiral into drug abuse

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