ManiFAILtos

A compilation of the many brand manifestos that failed to see the light of day.

Eyes lit.
Face aglow.
With lines of achievements past.
Clouds part.
A sudden clarity.
A weight lifted from her heart.
Fire in belly.
Strength in stride.
The whispers start to get louder.
Shots fire.
But not a quiver.
Her poise, simply impregnable.
This is beauty.
Her weapon of power.
Make way, world.
It’s Her Hour.

(Written for a beauty brand)

We love to complain.
At home. At work. In public.
About everything under the sun.
And even the sun itself.
Things are never
good enough, 
cheap enough, 
or fast enough.
This is a culture where
praises are rarer than gems.
Where brilliants and awesomes
aren’t tossed around freely.
But this is also a place where 
kids grow up hearing
“Next time try harder.”
Where adults are used to
“Good. But can be better.”
After every A star, 
every world record,
every shiny new building,
we know there’s more to go.
And being small is just a reminder
that there’s room to grow.
We’re not done here.
And never will be.
That’s why we take pride
in not staying satisfied.
This is Singapore.
And we’re always Ready for More.

Chop-chop. Let’s go.
This is a city that runs.
We run businesses. We run marathons.
We run to place parking coupons.
We may not have the fastest sprinters.
But we’ve got the world’s fastest walkers.
We may not have high-speed trains.
But we flag off high-speed races.
We’ve no time to lose.
So lose words also can.
PIE, AYE, we all understand.
The landscape’s never the same.
A new condo here. A swanky mall there.
And before you say alamak, a new icon’s born.
First a lion-fish, then twin durians.
Now there’s even a surfboard in the sky.
From time to time, we pause to enjoy the view.
But not for long.
Soon we’re up and moving on.
Call us hyperactive. Call us restless.
But try to get used to the speed,
and you’ll find it quite a ride.

 Singapore. 
The city that’s never still.

Can Singapore make it?
Probably not, they said.
But probability is just a number.
Coughed up by a machine, an algorithm,
that knows little about us.
And if the figures do predict anything,
it’s that we’re more than likely to ignore them. 

Others call us a miracle.
Amazed that we defied the odds for 50 years.
But probability never really mattered.
It’s possibility that kept us going. 

Possibility can’t be found in money,
in technology or in the future.
But sometimes you’ll see it in
a deep breath, a fist pump
or a sparkle in the eye.

Because possibility is from within.
It’s a spirit. A strength. A hope.
And with little else on this little island,
it’s the force that welds us together. 

So can we win an Olympic gold?
Can we send a man to space?
Can we make it?
We say, possible.
As possibility is the only way we can. 

Singapore.
The place where you can.

Home.
Home is not a roof and four walls.
It’s not your bed. Or your couch.
No, it isn’t where you have Wifi.

Home is kicking off your shoes.
And sometimes your pants.
Home is burnt toast, 
double dipping, and happy messes.
It’s about the first times,
and also the never-agains.
Home is snuggling under the sheets,
safe from all the monsters.
It’s the infectious giggle, the sudden burp
and uncontrollable tears.

Being yourself. 
That’s what home is.
It may not be your address.
But home is wherever you make it.
So make it count.
Make it last.
Make it yours.

With Airbnb,
Home is Yours

Dear Hainanese Chicken Rice, 

I’ll never forget our beautiful start.
When I stood in line, sweating for an hour,
before I could take you out for dinner.
When my lips touched your fair ivory skin,
and fireworks went off in my heart.
But things have gone stale over time.
And lately, I’ve met someone new.
Someone bolder, and saucier.
Someone who sets my world on fire.
It’s not easy to say this
but I got my hands a little dirty.
So I really want you to know,
that it’s not you. It’s not me.

It’s Nando’s PERi-PERi.