RED AF was a health communications campaign that aimed to foster a healthier and safer drinking culture in Singapore by raising awareness of high-risk drinking among people with Asian Flush. It also seeked to reform social norms surrounding drinking, especially among local university students.

Based on a study conducted by the team, it was found that one in three Singaporeans are Asian Flushers and 60% do not know of the scientific explanation behind the condition or how it increases one’s risk of developing negative health consequences. Addtionally,  young Asian Flushers continue to overestimate their drinking limits, with nearly half of them defining excessive drinking as seven alcoholic beverages and above. According to Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) drinking guidelines, women should consume a maximum of one alcoholic beverage, and a maximum of two for men in a day. And while 64% of Asian Flushers intend to keep to the guidelines, only 26% succeed in keeping to them.

Watch the campaign’s edutainment video below that garnered 100,000 Facebook views:

The Highlights

During the campaign (Dec 2017 – March 2018), the team gained 29 mentions across local mainstream publications. The team was also invited for radio interviews on Mediacorp Radio’s Chinese and English stations. There were also four health institutions which shared the team’s campaign content. Behavourial attitude changes from the public of not wanting to be associated with Asian Flush were also observed.

Watch the video below to view the campaign’s highlights:

The Memories

The RED AF team posing for a group photo.
The team participating in a roadshow at Communicate For Good, part of #THEFORGOODSESSIONS that seeks to inspire students to develop a sense of social awareness and passion for community initiatives.
The team behind the RED AF edutainment video.
The RED AF team taking a photo with their project mentors from Singapore Cancer Society.

Reflection #1 – The Challenges

The team faced with some challenges at the start as many medical organisations and professionals were not keen on commenting on the topic of Asian Flush as it is quite a new topic. At the start sponsors and partners were reluctant to come on board for the campaign as well. However, the team’s credibility and popularity as a campaign increased as they started to gain media coverage and buzz around the topic.

Reflection #2 – The Takeaways

RED AF’s video about Asian Flush left quite an impression on the team – there was a ten-fold increase in risk of getting cancer for people who flush after a few drinks. The team only discovered this fact during the campaign, and was therefore even more convinced to share RED AF’s posts with some of their friends. At the same time, it also made the team themselves reach for another drink less often.