A Boy and His Voice

This piece of news actually is about 2 weeks old, but I was still exploring blogger then. Anyways, here it is. Agape Press reported on March 17, 2005 that a "massive billboard campaign featuring several 'messages from God' will soon be unveiled all across America." They even have a new website for this campaign.. but the last I checked, it's not ready yet. It's really interesting to see what they have come up with to "attract" people back to God. Whatever happened to the good ol' "Come to God and be saved!". Do we all think we're sin-less now? Or is it because everyone is so numb because everybody else is sinning anyways.. and it makes it less.. sinful? Wouldn't it be interesting to see if any other corporate giants would play on the theme of God. I can already think of a few.. Just Do It. -God (Nike) heh. It gets the message across right? Or how about.. Heaven Inside. -God (Intel) Or how about.. Buying a house for your parents, $100,000.. Going on a holiday in Spain, $3000.. Dying in a plane crash and going to Heaven, priceless. (Mastercard). There are SO many possiblities. Will it work in Singapore? Maybe. Sure it'll get the awareness and the hype and all the other stuff.. but will it actually get people to start going to church? Now.. that's an interesting thought. Before you think I am going to preach, think again. From a purely advertising point of view, what use is an ad if it cannot sell? I believe that advertising at its raw-est form is about selling. What use is an advert if it cannot sell? Sure people know about you, people talk about you.. heck, people even dream about you. What's the point if they don't buy from you? Maybe if the people of the DeMoss Group Inc. (people responsible for the new campaign) focus more on getting people back to church and spreading the REAL word of God than trying to make a name for themselves, they might actually have a higher chance of getting people to focus on the God of the Bibile (as they claim) AND achieving the objective of advertising.

I was confused, I needed to know what I was good at and what I could do. I needed some answers. I posted this question on the msn as my nick. The quest to find out what I am good at became a journey of self-discovery instead. Friends and familys responded to my call of 'help'. My sister buzzed me over msn, telling me "you are who you are, you are who you want to be... you are my bro... Mr Lee Jyh Yeong". A friend buzzed me, telling me "you're yongie" and another, "you're either my bro or a piece of shit". As I gave some thought into it, I began to question my sister's definition of "Who am I?" Am I really who I am and who I want to be? I realised that who I am as a person, is being defined by how the other people sees me and the relationship I have with the other party. The idea is really simple: we are a reflection of our relationships with other people. E.g. Sam and I are best friends, hence I am his 'brother'. I belong to an institution called Curtin, hence I am a student. Basically, we're like an empty bottle. What the bottle will become will depend on what you put in. If you put in a flower, it's a vase; pour in water, it's a cup; fertiliser, pot. Now, if that's the case, then I foresee a problem. Can I really choose who I want to be? Of course, to a certain degree, I have the power of choosing who I want as friends and who I want a relationship (either friendship, mentorship, etc) with, but at other times, do we have a choice? Like the empty bottle, I want to be filled with knowledge, I want to learn, so that I can try and become what I want to be. In the future, I just want to be able to say that I am a copywriter/creative director, now the question is.. is anyone listening?


"And I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would you say I am?"

-Eminem: The Way I Am