AIA has launched a campaign to promote the benefits of sleep to Asian people, where many believe sleep should be sacrificed in order to get ahead.

The One More Hour campaign, by BBDO Singapore, spans across video, social and print, with character-led brand videos and top tips from AIA talent, including David Beckham, Tottenham Hotspur and Jeremy Pang.

The two brand videos pose the question ‘who will you be when you wake up?’, with one story showing the story of a family that struggles to wake up when their child wakes up each morning. By being more disciplined about earlier bedtime, with phones and TVs turned off, the parents manage to surprise the child by being awake when she wakes up.

These films were made in partnership with Amsterdam-based director, Kay Lindhout and Singapore’s own Abundant productions.

Some Asian countries, with Singapore ranking top, are among the world’s worst sleepers. A study from earlier this year found most Singaporeans ranked their sleep as ‘somewhat well’ or ‘not well’, with an average of 6.3 hours clocked on weeknights.

The AIA campaign was created to promote the benefits of sleep and counter the misconceptions that sleeping fewer leads to success. The campaign was launched at an event with professor Michael Chee, one of Asia's leading experts on the subject of sleep from Duke-NUS Medical School, and AIA Group’s chief marketing officer, Stuart A. Spencer.

“Research indicates sleep deprivation greatly affects an increasing number of people in Asia and because of this, we are taking a stand, raising the issue and seeking to change the narrative that sleep is not worth our time; it absolutely is. This programme is the embodiment of our long-term commitment to helping our customers live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives. BBDO has done a great job bringing this idea to life,” said Spencer.

The campaign ties into the wider marketing platform and AIA promise of helping people live ‘Healthier, Longer, Better Lives’, which Spencer said in a previous interview with The Drum, helps it navigate the disruption happening to marketing.