Together, we’re better without litter - Public Hygiene Council | Clapboard Ad Archive

Together, we’re better without litter marks a confident public service push from the Public Hygiene Council and Wunderman Thompson, deployed in Singapore in Year 2021 to reinforce a deep-rooted civic message: the visible, everyday habit of binning trash and keeping communal spaces clean is central to a thriving city. Anchored in a film-led execution, the campaign floods the market category with documentary and social experiment storytelling, amplifying real Singaporeans’ actions and the resulting ripple effect of shared responsibility. Rather than dramatizing worst-case scenarios or leaning into didactic messaging, the creative leans into what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#1—Demonstration, eschewing embellishment to simply, clearly depict the desired behavior: clean up after yourself, and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment for all. The film medium’s choice to focus on actual public spaces and authentic social interactions taps into powerful levers of social conformity and peer accountability, leveraging an implicit understanding in Singaporean culture that public cleanliness signals national pride and communal harmony. Through rallying calls like #KeepSGClean and #BetterWithoutLitter, the campaign builds a participatory movement that extends well beyond the screen, encouraging behavioral shifts in daily routines—whether clearing a hawker centre table or binning a drinks packet after a park visit—that together keep the city’s hard-fought reputation for cleanliness intact. While the campaign eschews conflict-driven storytelling for a demonstration format, its very restraint becomes a strategic asset: by normalizing pro-social action and connecting it to a tangible shared benefit—everyone wins—it sidesteps moralizing and offers viewers a sense of collective efficacy rather than guilt. Viewed by over 329,000, the campaign registers substantial resonance in its cultural context. The program’s positioning as peer-driven, habit-forming, and anchored in local values of mutual respect distinguishes it versus past efforts from the National Environment Agency or the Cleaner Singapore Campaign, weaving grassroots energy with institutional credibility. This is underscored by the measured, unifying language that welcomes every viewer to join the movement, reinforcing the individual’s role within a larger community goal rather than posturing as a top-down directive. The film’s concise, demonstration-focused narrative ensures the message is accessible, dismantling barriers to entry and foregrounding a practical roadmap that’s easy to emulate. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Ultimately, Together, we’re better without litter signals how durable behavioral change in public service communications comes from showing, rather than telling, and invites the industry to weigh the enduring power of simplicity and social proof in building collective action.