Why K-Pop Star Park Hyung Sik Is Urging You Not to Ghost Your Pals
There’s little sadder than the friend who is so chained to work that they’ve forgotten to socialise. In many cultures in the Asia Pacific region, the fear of being seen to let down co-workers is so strong that many people stay late even when there’s nothing for them to do - leaving their other friends high and dry.
Heineken has been trying to tackle work-life balance with its Work Responsibly messaging, and in their latest outing they’re showing that people trapped in the eerie, otherworldly dimension known as ‘the office’ are, in their own way, social ghosts.
A cheeky online campaign starring actor and boyband singer Park Hyung Sik gives the campaign that ‘caught on camera’ vibe, and in bar events in Singapore and Malaysia, people will be able to experience their own spooky session.
To find out more about the ghostly goings-on, creepy creative and uncanny insights behind the campaign, LBB’s Laura Swinton caught up with Heineken BV’s Tanya Lubis, global integrated communication manager and Jonathan O’Lone, global brand PR lead at The HEINEKEN Company, as well as Le Pub APAC ECD Cyril Louis.
LBB> What was the brief that the Heineken team first brought to Le Pub? What was their specific goal?
Jonathan> At Heineken we believe strongly in the importance of sociability; something we are seeing being threatened the world over with the increasing imbalance in the pressures of work today. We challenged Le Pub to bring Heineken’s #WorkResponsibly platform to Singapore and Malaysia in a locally relevant way. Our goal is to drive awareness in advocating for proper work-life balance in the Asia-Pacific region and spark a conversation about the importance of work-life boundaries and prioritisation of our social and leisure time.
LBB> How much do you think this campaign was informed by the post(ish) covid work situation, with people heading back to the office? Or does this fit into other wider issues or trends around work-life balance?
Jonathan> This is Heineken’s third Work Responsibly campaign, and our first in APAC, so we really wanted to understand the causes of work-life imbalance in Singapore and Malaysia. We commissioned a study by YouGov and learned that 64.5% of employees feel burned out at work, almost half (46.5%) have “ghosted” their friends due to work obligations. One reason for overworking that’s unique to Singapore and Malaysia is a prevalent workplace culture of presenteeism — 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. With the launch of ‘The Ghosted Bar’, we’re starting a conversation about this culture of overworking in Singapore and Malaysia, and reminding people not to let their friends down by ‘ghosting’ them because of work.
Do I think this campaign was informed by the post covid work situation? No. I believe it is something that has crept up on society and covid accelerated what was already an issue.
LBB> Why was Park Hyung Sik the ideal person to help front this campaign?
Tanya> Instead of going for the celebrity who has the biggest following on social media, we carefully chose someone who is more authentic, and who has a passion for this particular project. Park has a very positive image and a well-balanced lifestyle. He manages his image as a global celebrity while still being a grounded personality who is very real. He is very careful when choosing brand collaborations, but the reason he was so interested in this project is because he loved its social responsibility angle. The Ghosted Bar is all about encouraging people to work responsibly, which was a very good match for his values.
LBB> And what were the interesting challenges around bringing that element to life?
Tanya> Timing! We had two days to close the deal and the filming took place the day afterwards, so our team at Heineken and Le Pub had to pivot quickly from planning into the production phase. That just goes to show that when you have a crystal-clear creative vision, everything is possible. We conducted the shoot remotely with a creative team in Singapore and Milan, who directed Park in Korea, and we feel it still achieved believability and authenticity with the paranormal activity - we really proved to ourselves that we can achieve the impossible. The fact that Park is an amazing actor also helped, of course!
LBB> How did you get to that inspired connection between the absent friend being a sort of ghost?
Cyril> It came from an insight that many people in Asia fear letting their co-workers down by leaving work on time. But there is someone else they are letting down when they are doing so: their friend. It is as if they are always half-present at the bar—a ghost.
LBB> The teaser video is great and definitely nods to those 'Paranormal Caught on Camera' shows (my boyfriend watches... a lot of those!) - what was the key to capturing that raw authenticity?
Cyril> Heineken being a premium brand, the content we usually produce has a high level of polish and doesn't look raw. For these films, we had to balance believability while retaining a high standard, and it was all a balancing act. The acting had to be as natural as possible while conveying the paranormal activity's unusualness. The other crucial point was using points of view that usually capture this type of event, people’s phones and static CCTV cameras.
LBB> From a production perspective, how did you crack those spooky beer moves?
Cyril> We explored two very different directions at the start. Knowing that we would have an event, we pushed for everything to be done via mechatronics: hidden constructs using technology to make the beer moves happen without being seen. We also used the good old techniques of wires and plating.
LBB> The ghost experience bars in Singapore and Malaysia sound loads of fun! Can you talk us through how you created those experiences? What can guests expect?
Cyril> We didn’t want to spoil the surprise for the guests, so we said very little about the events in advance. But one thing for sure is that they all enjoyed a Heineken with their ghost friend stuck at work brought to life using the latest technologies, and all the events held so far have been a huge success.
LBB> And why was it so important to have this in-person element to the campaign?
Cyril> Creating an experience bringing people together to raise awareness of overworking and its effects on social life was not even a question for us. Heineken has always stood for creating shared connections with others, choosing the exact moment and place where your friends are missed will enable the #workresponsibly message to resonate further.
LBB> The digital element of the campaign allows people to turn their friends into 'ghosts' in order to remind them not to work so late - what do you think this element brings to the campaign?
Cyril> We wanted to enable everyone who has friends overworking to be able to send them a fun reminder not to neglect their social life and to join them for some good social time around a Heineken. It gives scale to the campaign, enables everyone to participate, and links to a promotion mechanic.
