i want to know what heavy drugs were they on? 
also, we're not laughing with them, we're laughing at them
ST 24 Nov 2007, pH5
Yo, check it out,
MDA's bringin' down the house!
By Alfred Siew
YES, yes, y'all, they don't stop!
The top brass in the Media Development Authority (MDA) have pulled
in 20,000 views on the video-sharing website YouTube in just two
days.
It is a feat few local acts manage. A video of opposition leader
Chiam See Tong during the last general election - considered well
watched - has been viewed only about 11,000 times.
The MDA video, classified under 'comedy' on YouTube, features the
agency's senior people jabbing their fingers in the air and rapping
about a vibrant Singapore. It was produced to showcase the agency's
work on the media scene.
The brainchild of MDA communications director Cassandra Tay, the
four-minute clip was first shown at a staff conference in April. It
was also screened at the reception areas of offices and to new
staff.
The rap video was so well received that it was later sent to those
in the industry in a memory drive together with the agency's annual
report. A version was also put on its website.
The public cottoned on after newspaper reports this week and so
far, at least six copies of the video have been put up on
YouTube.
Viewers have been lapping up the surprise of seeing senior civil
servants rapping in rhyme, addressing viewers with 'yo' and telling
them to 'get creative'.
Some Internet users praised the officers for daring to be
different, but others thought parts of it silly and felt that the
civil servants were trying too hard to be cool.
Sales manager Iris Goh, 30, who watched the clip twice, said: 'The
rap's okay if you don't see them moving...because they can't
dance!'
Senior public relations consultant Steven Ng, 33, was not sure the
the video's popularity guaranteed that its core message would hit
home.
'If the video interests people to read MDA's annual report, that's
great,' he said. 'But if months from now, all they remember is this
funny rap, then the video has failed.'
The agency's Ms Tay told The Straits Times last night how the MDA
Senior Management Rap had come about and said: 'The rap video was
meant to show a lighter side of management, without taking anything
away from the annual report.'
Of all the attention it has received she said: 'We are pleased that
much discussion has been generated and hope that it will raise
greater awareness of the media sector.'
Aware that some liked it while others did not, she said their
reaction reflected what communication, creativity and breaking new
ground were all about.
'When you try new ways to communicate, it is understandable that
there will be people who appreciate your efforts and those who do
not,' she said.
The main intention was to try a different approach - and this, she
said, was important for an agency championing creativity.
She also passed to The Straits Times an e-mail from a British
lawyer clearly delighted at receiving the MDA rap video.
'It has to be the most unexpected presentation by a government
department that I've ever seen and I do hope other recipients were
as entertained by it as I was,' said Mr Hugh Mason, partner of a
law firm.
He added: 'It takes guts to try something new and when you do, it
makes people question their prejudices.'
