In recent times, Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) brand Yeo’s found itself at the center of controversy due to its usage of the late former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s image on their drink packets.
However, Alvin Tan, the Minister of State for Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY) defended the usage, deeming Yeo’s use of Lee’s likeness as ‘respectful.’
The Backstory: Yeo’s and the Lee Kuan Yew Drink Packets
This year marked Lee’s 100th birth anniversary, and among the commemoration efforts was the introduction of legal tender $10 coins minted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) that bore his likeness.
Amidst these celebrations, Yeo’s, a popular local F&B brand, made headlines by unveiling a drink packet adorned with Mr. Lee’s face.
Departing from their usual brand colors, they adopted a green theme and featured the words “Garden City, Vision to Reality” on the packaging.
However, this move was met with a significant backlash, with netizens decrying it as an attempt to exploit Mr. Lee’s image for commercial gain.
Yeo’s response to backlash
Thanks for your interest in Yeo’s. Just to clarify, this is not a commercial initiative as the special chrysanthemum brew was given away for free to celebrate Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s visionary role in transforming Singapore into a city in a garden that fuses nature with the urban landscape.
Many young Singaporeans may not be aware of this and we wanted this to be an educational campaign on the occasion of the 100th year of his birth.
We had deliberately chosen not to use our normal brand colours etc as we wanted to drive home the green message rather than sell products.
MCCY’s Ruling: ‘Respectful’
The controversy didn’t stop at public opinion; it even caught the attention of parliament and was brought up in the Parliament session on October 3rd.
Sembawang MP Poh Li San questioned whether the use of Mr. Lee’s likeness on the drinks had breached any guidelines on the use of his image.
In response, Minister Alvin Tan confirmed that Yeo’s had consulted MCCY regarding the usage of Mr. Lee’s image on their drink and the MCCY deemed the use of Lee’s image as being “respectful” as it was to honour his contribution to Singapore’s evolution into a Garden City.
He also added that Yeo’s was not selling the packet drinks commercially and were distributing them free of charge.
One concern raised during the parliamentary session was the potential for disrespect when disposing of the drink packets featuring Mr. Lee’s image. Ms. Poh highlighted the possibility of these packets ending up in rubbish bins or discarded as litter, which Tan then responded by advising people to throw away the drinks packets respectfully and responsibly.