Crazy Rich Asians: When A Film Brands A Nation

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Singapore: From Money no enough to more than enough

Crazy Rich Asians is making history by breaking record after record, in typical over-achieving Asian fashion. As Singapore enters the international limelight once again since the Trump-Kim Summit, let's see how the Singapore brand is taking shape in the global arena of entertainment, post-SG50.

Branding: Peacocks, oriental fans and lots of gold

First, can I just say how ridiculously powerful the title of the book (and hence the film) is. There are rich families in any country, but for a rich family in Singapore - throw in the crazy Asian culture twist and you have yourself an NYT best seller for 11 weeks in a row. 

The film could only attempt to present a visual representation of the countless riches described in the book. 1 of the most talked-about outlandish scenes was the wedding, which was inspired by Singapore's "City in a Garden" vision. 
What weddings at Gardens By the Bay would look like 

They even took it one step further by incorporating luxurious greenery onto the backdrop of the red carpet during the UK premiere.
Life is a bed of roses for the rich crazies

Colours play an important role in setting a mental image for audiences to remember, and I'm glad the branding and marketing of the film lived up to its name.
Crazy Rich Asians logo in different languages

The gold on dark teal combination is a smart choice, seeing how Teal is a luxurious colour (ask Putien). Red is also interchangeably used as an alternative background colour. An auspicious colour for the Chinese, it is used heavily in wedding imagery to promote good luck and fortune. 

 But most importantly, we love our gold, painting every detail in that shade of the elite - even logos.



The poster depicts the film's leads posing like modern day royalty - a colourful and expensive background with oriental touches help to sell the "crazy rich" part. Here's a closeup of the it:

"SINCAPORE"

The positive outcome of this film was not without some hiccups, notably the red carpet SG branding faux pas, the lack of Singapore's minority representation in the film and more recently, Kevin Kwan's NS defaulter status. To avoid turning this into a political post, I'm only going to focus on the 1st issue.

 Just a few months ago, the Singapore's Trump-Kim summit identity (featuring our new SG mark) was snubbed by the US delegation, which decorated the its press hall with their own serious Trump business-style identity. Trump only spoke in front of the US created backdrop, completely sidelining the identity we probably paid a lot for created. 

You'd think that Singapore would learn its lesson when the logo was featured on the Crazy Rich Asians red carpet in Los Angeles. Nope.

"Chooobs!"

Warner Brothers said that the letters melted off and apologised for the logo 'failing at the crucial moment'. The funny thing is that of all the logos featured on this backdrop, the one with the error was captured most. I half-hoped that a Singaporean funnyman/funnywoman like Koh Chieng Mun would attempt to block the logo by standing in front of it - that would be legendary. 

I'm not sure why STB hasn't asked Crazy Rich Asians to post only pictures with the correct SG logo, but what's the poss bility of them listening to us?


Well, for those who want to see this incident in a positive light, those reading news articles on this error would likely remember this logo for quite some time to come. By this logo I mean that logo of Sincapore.

Strike a (local) pose

Local fashion might not have played a huge part in the film, but that did not stop our actors and actresses from dressing in local couture. These were some of the notable looks:

 Janice Koh wearing Ong Shunmugam




There's nothing fancier than an ex-politician shining in local wear. 

 Fiona Xie in JessicaCindy


Fiona Xie surely shows her personality through her fashion choices.

 Constance Lau in Time Taken To Make A Dress


Constance Lau slayed her red carpet looks, especially during the LA premiere, even admitting that it would be hard to top that ensemble. That dress was truly the best of the night. 

Crazy Singapore Branding

If you think about it, it is such a surreal thing that of all the Asian countries in the world, Crazy Rich Asians was set in Singapore, thanks to author Kevin Kwan's childhood memories here. 

 Prominent Singapore landmarks such as Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands are featured in the film, together with the quintessential Singaporean makan places. For some, the food alone is enough to make them want to visit Singapore. For others, they would want to trace out the movie's scenes by heading to each location in the film,

 Whatever reason they may have for coming to Singapore, know that we will always welcome them with open arms lah. 

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