BBH back Maid’s Day Off campaign

BBH Asia Pacific has launched a digital campaign to support the National Committee of UNIFEM Singapore’s ongoing Day Off campaign – which calls for all employers in Singapore to give their maids a regular rest day off. The campaign launches in conjunction with UNIFEM Singapore’s one year anniversary of the Day off campaign that coincides with the May 1st Labour Day holiday. The campaign, consisting of a micro site and viral videos, aims to raise awareness and educate employers about the need to give their maids a day off.

The BBH – created micro site encapsulates the day in a life of a domestic maid who lives in your browser 24/7.The site provides digestible information on basic rights and misconceptions surrounding the issue of a maids day off and allows you to make a pledge to support and share the cause.

The campaign also features a viral video of mock interviews that capture real reactions of people in a corporate job interview setting, where participants are asked if they would accept working conditions that match those of domestic maids in Singapore.

“No way”, “definitely not”, “that is a little bit ridiculous” and “it sounds like a jail”, were just a few reactions to the proposed working conditions.

“We wanted people to understand what it felt like to be in the shoes of a maid who worked without a regular day off. The genuine reactions we received from turning the tables on the corporate sector served as the best proof that everyone needs time off work,” says Preeti Kaur, Associate Account Director, BBH Asia Pacific.

*Of the 170,000 maids employed in Singapore, over half do not have a regular maid’s day off.

“The call for empathy towards domestic maids is even more evident during these trying times where everyone is feeling the pinch at work and in the home. We anticipate this new injection of awareness will bring momentum to the current Day Off campaign. While we have had positive response so far, there is still a way to go before maids are granted the time off they deserve,” says Saleemah Ismail, President, UNIFEM Singapore.

This is the second public education campaign BBH Asia Pacific has produced for UNIFEM Singapore, following the Stop Child Sex campaign that launched in 2007.