{ Posters from Our Past }

Posters have acted as mirrors and visual records of our culture and history. Whilst posters have been used by governments and many private organisations to promote all kinds of products, posters have also been employed on the service of war, peace and propaganda. Placed in public environments, posters are effective in promoting causes and speaking directly to the mass.

An exhibition held in National Library Building's Central Public Library Basement 1, from 3rd Sep - 15 Oct 2009, showcased past years public posters of Singapore. This exhibition features how Singapore has evolved in their government's advertising campaigns.

While walking through the exhibition space, I seem to be walking through my childhood too as I saw some familiar campaign posters from the past. I have to admit local posters really come a long way, but sadly I feel that posters from the earlier days seem to speak to the public better and hence leave a long-lasting impression. I wonder how many people actually feel the same as me? Have a look at some of the featured posters and you'll be your own judge.

Interesting campaign in the 1970s to discourage men from having long hair.

A familiar mascot of the 1980s for Healthcare.

Language campaigns from the 1980s to 2000s.

The in-famous family control campaign from the 1970s. As the public during those days tends to want sons instead of daughters, the posters deliberately chose girls as the models for the campaign.

See how "Save water campaign" by the Public Utilities Board has evolved throughout the years.