REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE NAVY CHALLENGES SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS VIA NEW MCCANN CAMPAIGN

The Republic of Singapore Navy has launched ‘There Was a Time (When Nothing Was too Crazy for Her)’, a campaign developed with McCann Singapore to reframe women’s perceptions of Navy careers. Targeting female students, it reminds them of childhood fearlessness and encourages rediscovery of strength, leadership, and bravery.  

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has unveiled a new recruitment campaign, There Was a Time (When Nothing Was too Crazy for Her), created in partnership with McCann Singapore. Designed to position the Navy as an attainable and rewarding career choice for women, the campaign addresses the barriers that deter young women from considering defence careers.  

Research revealed that 82% of young women rule out a Navy career because they feel it does not align with their passions, while 58% believe it to be too physically demanding. Rather than confronting these perceptions head-on, the campaign takes a more evocative approach: transporting women back to a time before self-imposed boundaries existed, when childhood curiosity and courage defined their choices.  

The creative idea draws on a universal truth—that young girls begin life fearless, uninhibited, and willing to try anything. Over time, societal expectations shape their identities, often limiting their sense of capability. The campaign reframes this by reminding women in Singapore that qualities such as strength, leadership, and bravery are not absent, but perhaps forgotten, and can be rediscovered through a career in the Navy.  

The campaign’s activations include out-of-home, social, and direct mailer executions. Each depicts young girls in uninhibited play—commanding the room, taking charge, and deciding for themselves what is fun—embodying the very qualities that underpin success in the Navy.  

Daniel Kee, Chief Creative Officer at McCann Singapore, explained: “We believe that the most effective recruitment work does not just showcase what’s on offer, but shifts how people see themselves in relation to it. Guided by McCann’s ‘Truth Well Told’ philosophy, this idea is powerful because it is rooted in a simple truth—that there is a version of every woman that existed before society placed limits on her ambitions. We wanted to reframe not only how women perceived the Navy, but the beliefs they hold about themselves.”  

Kee added that the campaign was designed to feel personal rather than fact-driven, using the visual language of childhood memories—grainy, intimate, like old family photographs—to meet women in a place before limits were learned. Notably, the idea was developed by an all-female creative team, lending authenticity and resonance to the work.  

This campaign builds on six years of collaboration between McCann Singapore and the RSN under the recruitment platform It’s Not Crazy, It’s the Navy. That platform set a benchmark in defence marketing by challenging public perceptions of the Navy. There Was a Time (When Nothing Was too Crazy for Her) extends the philosophy to a new audience, challenging the perceptions young women hold of themselves and encouraging them to rediscover the qualities that could carry them into a Navy career.