tell me about it

Zoe Tay denies her ad’s possible double meaning, but others say it is in poor taste

SHE is known for her clean, wholesome image and is the ‘Ah Jie’ - big sister - of Caldecott Hill.

By Wendy Teo, from the Electric New Paper

27 August 2006

SHE is known for her clean, wholesome image and is the ‘Ah Jie’ - big sister - of Caldecott Hill.

So when Zoe Tay appeared in advertisements with suggestive-sounding lines, she naturally raised a few eyebrows - and induced a few sniggers too.

The lines, over a sexy picture of Zoe in bed: ‘My secret to beautiful skin? I swallow.’

The ads are for Imedeen, a beauty supplement in tablet form.

The sexual innuendo has not gone unnoticed and the ad has been making its rounds on the Internet, with many poking fun at it or asking if the actress knew what she was doing.

But the 37-year-old actress remained unflustered when The New Paper met her on Thursday at a press conference to launch the product.

Sporting a new short bob, Zoe admitted she was told about the tagline - which only appears in the English version of the print and TV ads and not the Chinese ones - beforehand.

Didn’t she realise that the lines had a possible sexual innuendo?

Zoe replied: ‘The concept was by the advertising agency, and I thought it was quite novel. I’m not sure why it is so unusual. It’s about tablets, and I swallow them.’

‘The meaning (of the words) is not this, so there’s nothing for me to mind. The campaign may be a bit direct, but I don’t see anything wrong with it.’

Her husband Phillip Chionh hasn’t commented on the ad, she said, because he’s been busy and hasn’t seen them.

But netizens, including blogger mrbrown, have been busy discussing it.

Wrote one called Penelope: ‘Either Zoe’s got a sick sense of humour or she’s completely clueless too. So malu (Malay for embarassing).’

Retiree Gabriel Tan, 66, also did not mince his disapproving words.

He said: ‘When you are talking about tablets, of course you have to swallow. There’s no need to emphasise that. It’s not classy. There’s no need to grab attention using such provocative means.’

Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Business lecturer Adrian Er, 31, agreed: ‘Swallow is a term that we never use in advertising, especially beauty ads, because of the negative connotations. The ad may be trying to be clever, but it’s not delivering its message well.

‘The guys will get the joke, but you’re selling your product to the ladies. Advertisements (should) be sexy and sensual, but not offensive.’

FUN, SAYS COMPANY

Imedeen’s international communications manager Gywn Davies told The New Paper that the tagline was dreamt up by ‘two females in London’, and that it ‘brings a bit of humour and fun into the campaign’.

She said: ‘We tested the campaign in Singapore and (found) that it’s not controversial, but slightly provocative.’

At least several of Zoe’s fans we spoke to seem to be taking it quite well.

Quality engineer Joey Chua, 26, said: ‘Zoe is married and also a mother now. There’s nothing really wrong with her saying these things. I’m sure society is more open-minded these days.’

Another fan, Madam Denise Low, an executive in her 40s, did not get the sexual innuendo at first.

When it was explained to her, she said: ‘Why must people think this way? Imedeen is a kind of tablet, so of course you swallow tablets, right?’