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Parental pressure and family worries dominate NTUC’s ‘The Last Sandwich Generation’ campaign

A new campaign for NTUC Income called ‘The Last Sandwich Generation’ makes a case for investing early and saving for retirement. 

Created by BBH Singapore, a campaign film called ‘The Promise’ chronicles the life of a young man struggling to meet the demands of his elderly parents, even as he tries to start a family of his own. 

Considering the film’s protagonist talks about being “given everything while growing up”, the new campaign can be seen as an inversion of the ‘Worst Parents in the World’ idea from last year.

The campaign was built around research commissioned by Income and conducted by Kantar which revealed that 94% of individuals that fell within the ‘sandwich generation’ – having to care for elderly parents and young children – feel financially pressured. Among young Singaporeans, 80% fear they will become the next sandwich generation. 

And 60% of this burgeoning sandwich generation has not started planning for retirement. However, nine in 10 parents believed they are better placed to prevent their children from becoming the next Sandwich Generation.

Speaking about the campaign Income chief marketing officer Marcus Chew said: “We believe that today’s generation of parents have better access to the knowledge and financial tools to be independent in their retirement years, as compared to their own parents before. 

“By planning their retirement, they can ensure their children will not have to be ‘sandwiched’ in future since their parents are financially independent. We hope that our target audience will embrace this message that we have shared through a relatable campaign.”

BBH Singapore creative director Janson Choo added: “The thing about being a sandwich generation is that many of us have a defeatist attitude towards it. We think of it almost like part of adulthood or growing up, and it becomes a vicious cycle from parent to child. 

“So when Marcus and his team proposed the idea of ending the ‘sandwich generation’, it immediately resonated with us. There is a way out. It’s not going to be easy, but we can be the last, so that our children won’t have to be sandwiched in the future.

The campaign will play out over three months across social, digital, out of home and in-store advertising

Credits:

Agency: BBH Singapore

Chief creative officer: Joakim Borgstrom 

Executive creative Director: Sascha Kuntze

Creative directors: Janson Choo & Khairul Mondzi

Account director: Manavi Sharma

Account manager: Priscilla Lim

Head of planning: Thomas Wagner

Strategist: Amanda Lim

Agency producer: Kim Lim

Production company: Freeflow Productions

Director: Roslee Yusof

Audio production: Fuse Adventures in Audio 

Client: NTUC Income

Chief marketing officer: Marcus Chew

Head – brand marketing: Chloe Fair 

Senior executive –  brand marketing: Charis Leong

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