SINGAPORE – Heineken’s latest “Work Responsibly” campaign, created in collaboration with global Korean actor Park Hyung Sik, sheds light on the overworking culture in Singapore and Malaysia through a series of ghostly encounters.
While “ghosting” is a term used typically in dating, getting ghosted by a friend can hurt just as much as being ghosted by a crush. According to the latest YouGov survey commissioned by Heineken, one of the most common reasons (45%) why people “ghost” their friends in Singapore and Malaysia is due to their work commitments.
The actor recently shared a video on Instagram that appeared to show paranormal activity in a bar — beer glasses moving on their own, chairs sliding across the room. Fans were spooked, but it turns out this haunting bar experience was all part of Heineken’s supernatural “The Ghosted Bar” campaign, which highlights how a friend stuck in the office is a ghost at the bar, leaving friends hanging out with their “ghost” instead.
Along with the teaser video shared by Park Hyung Sik, which achieved more than four million views in 24 hours, a squad of more than 15 influencers from Singapore and Malaysia amplified the content of the global Korean actor by sharing it on their Instagram and Tik Tok profiles. By Monday, the content had 6.5 million views.
“Through this meaningful project by Heineken, we want to encourage employees to start working responsibly,” said Park Hyung Sik. “We should enjoy our social life and not let it be impacted by our work,” he added.
With activations in Singapore and Malaysia, the campaign reminds employees to finish work on time and socialize with friends at a new “haunt” in town. In Singapore, Heineken is hosting a “ghosted bar” experience on April 19. In Malaysia, 40 paranormal “ghosted bar” experiences will take place across the country, gently spooking people into working responsibly and not ghosting their friends. Heineken and Le Pub have also created an online Ghost Generator, which can be used to remind friends to leave work on time by vaporizing them into ghosts.
“Ghosted Bar is an amazing new chapter dedicated to the #WorkResponsibly platform that is raising awareness of the sensitive work-life balance issue around the world. Heineken has always encouraged and fostered socialization and healthy human connections as we feel that workers need to embrace more social and leisure time. We’re thrilled to bring this platform to Singapore and Malaysia as a reminder to leave your duties on time and not let your social life fall behind,” shared Bram Westenbrink, Global Head Heineken Brand.
Why work is haunting our friendships
According to the commissioned study by YouGov, 46.5% of employees in Singapore and Malaysia have “ghosted” their friends due to work obligations, 64.5% feel burned out at work, while 42.5% revealed that work has caused strains in their relationship with their friends and partners.
One reason for overworking that’s unique to the APAC region is a prevalent workplace culture of “presenteeism,” or that niggling feeling of guilt over leaving work on time despite finishing the day’s work or feeling obligated to stay back until managers leave.
59% of employees in Singapore and Malaysia agree that while their employers value work-life balance and encourage them to take time off, they still do not see improvement in their social life and often find themselves “ghosting” their friends because of work. This is because employees (68.5%) find themselves unable to reject extra work given to them — 73% are afraid to reject extra work because they were assigned by their seniors/managers while 41% are afraid that it will affect their promotions as they will be deemed as “lazy.”
Together with Park Hyung Sik, Heineken wants to encourage a refreshed mindset towards this culture of overworking in Singapore and Malaysia, and remind employees of the importance of working responsibly and not letting their friends down by ‘ghosting’ them so often because of work.
“When you don’t leave work on time for fear of letting down your coworkers or because of societal pressures, you let someone else down: your friends. Heineken’s Ghosted Bar campaign reminds us to leave the office after an honest day at work to live your social life at its fullest. This is what #WorkResponsibly is all about. By collaborating with global Korean actor Park Hyung Sik, the brand is encouraging people to clock off work on time, prioritize and acknowledge self-care, and rebuild work culture from a well-being perspective,” says Bruno Bertelli, Global CEO of Le Pub, Global CCO of Publicis Worldwide, CCO of Publicis Groupe Italy.
The Ghosted Bar is the third #WorkResponsibly campaign to launch from Heineken. It follows the launch of The Closer (June 2022) and The Office Cleaners (December 2022).
Visit the online Ghost Generator: Heineken.com/ghostgenerator
CREDITS
HEINEKEN GLOBAL
Sr. Director Global Heineken® Brand: Bram Westenbrink
Heineken® Global Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken® Global Communication Director: Agnieszka Gorecki
Heineken® Global Digital Director: Rob van Griensven
Heineken® Global Communication Manager: Tanya Lubis
Heineken® Global Digital Development Manager: Pearly Lim
Heineken® APAC Brand and Business Development Director: Rajeev Sathyesh
Heineken® Brand Global PR Lead: Jonathan O’Lone
HEINEKEN MALAYSIA
Head of Marketing: Willemijn Sneep
Senior Brand Manager, Heineken: Julie Kuan
Brand Manager, Heineken: Jen Lyn Sin
Junior Brand Manager, Heineken: Natasha Ng
PR Manager: Salini Muniandy
HEINEKEN SINGAPORE
Marketing Director: Gerald Yeo
Premium Brands Marketing Manager: Benjamin Kwek
Heineken® Brand Manager: Odelia Ling
Brand PR and Communications Manager: Tan Li Lyn
PUBLICIS ITALY/Le Pub, Le Pub APAC
Global CEO Le Pub, Global CCO Publicis Worldwide, CCO Publicis Groupe Italy: Bruno Bertelli
Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Chief Creative Officer lePub Singapore: Cyril Louis
Global Executive Creative Director: Eoin Sherry
Global Executive Creative Director: Andrey Tyukavkin
Global Creative Director: Jack Christensen
Creative Director lePub Singapore: Sergey Mast
Creative Director: Stefano Zanoni
Associate Creative Director lePub Singapore: Yuste De Lucas
Associate Creative Director lePub Singapore: Rudy Zulkifly
Associate Creative Director: Roberto Ardigò
Associate Creative Director: Geo Joseph
Art Director lePub Singapore: Andrew Nicholas Yap
Art Director lePub Singapore: William Walter Watters
Copywriter: David Casares
Head of Creative Technology: Mauro Mazzei
Global Head of PR & Communication: Isabella Cecconi
PR Manager: Eleonora Botta
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer: Charles Laporte Aust
Global Strategy Director: Monica Radulescu
Global Data Strategist: Ilko Petkov
Senior Experience Strategist: Antonio Jorgaqi
Global Head of Social&Content: Valentina Salaro
Social Media Manager: Lara Simoniello
Junior Social Media Manager: Daniele Benvenuti
Global Client Service Director: Paola Natellis
General Manager lePub Singapore: Hanh Kanssen
Group Account Director: Ilaria Castiglioni
Group Account Director lePub Singapore: Tammy Tan
Account Director: Gonzalo Gutiérrez Gauna
Account Supervisor: Marta Dell’Adami
Account Manager Publicis Korea: Donggun Kim
Account Intern lePub Singapore: Marian Govin
Chief Creation Officer: Francesca Zazzera
Producer: Donovan del Rosario
Producer: Mariella Maiorano
MSL SINGAPORE
Managing Director MSL Singapore: Joanna Ong
Associate Director MSL Singapore: Dora Sham
Senior Associate MSL Singapore: Reen Lee
Senior Associate MSL Singapore: Jolynn Chan
Associate-in-training MSL Singapore: Isha Meleth
PRODUCTION
Production Company: The Usual Suspects Pictures/Unboxnow
Director: Thay Littichai
Executive Producer: Arunwan So (Siw Siw)
Producer: Ramon Patamalikitsakul (Kaew)/ M.Rifdi
DP: Kuba Lubniewski
Art Director: Aloysious Norman
Stylist: Sabrina Simone Tan
POST-PRODUCTION
Editor Dir Cut: Pang Wei Fong
Editor: Simon Tan
Grading: Azman Mohamed
Online: Prodigious
Music: Dahouse Audio
POPPER – THE GHOSTED BAR EVENT IN SINGAPORE
Creative Director: Justin Seow
Design Lead: Balerie Ngo
Designer: Eric Wong
Snr Account Manager: Suzanne Woon
Account Manager: Kyleen Ng
Account Executive: Alexandra Stewart
Account Executive: Eugene Ang
Operations Manager: Kelvin Wang
Operations Executive: Foo Chuan Shen
Tech Lead: Ting Lee
Tech Director: Justin Leo
Tech Project Director: Raja Muhamad Danial
Frontend Developer: Eric Gor
Frontend/Backend Developer: Naufal Hafizi
BUREAU BEATRICE
CEO & CO-Founder: Kevin Alderweireld
CCO & CO-Founder: Jon S. Maloy
Creative Director: Bernardo Moreira
Account Director: Nour Dalle
Technical Lead: Imran Behlim
Full-stack Developer Technical Lead: Mees
Full-stack Developer: Servin
Front-end Developer: Emiel
Full-stack Developer: Daan
Front-end Developer: Justin
AMPLIFY
Senior Strategic Planning| Team Lead: Maria Lekka
Global Client Manager: Marie Boucaut
Senior Campaign Manager: Lisa van Vliet
Campaign Manager: Ruben Neuhaus
