bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Sara Yin

Illustrator and designer Wong Mau-lun cringes as he watches an anti-smoking commercial from the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health on television. Released in June, it features a choir of different characters, from robed spa customers to karaoke singers, urging a young smoker to quit his habit. 'You can do it!' the choir sings. 'You can do it, you can do it, you can do it, just quit!' 
Wong rolls his eyes. 'What  was that?' says the 24-year-old former smoker, joking that the ad makes him want to reach for a cigarette instead.
Every year the government fills the airwaves with millions of dollars worth of tax-funded advertising (last year, they took up more than 1,340 hours of television time and 164 hours on radio). Known as announcements in the public interest, or APIs, they aim to inspire, motivate and improve society. 
A Family Council commercial launched in April, for instance, tries to promote domestic harmony by depicting an overworked father who is re-energised when he comes home to his wife and son. Other ads tout the benefits of better English skills in the workplace and the dangers of gambling addiction.
It's all very well meaning but how effective are such ads? To many advertising professionals, APIs often miss the mark, irritating people rather than resonating with them. 
The tone of government advertisements is usually too instructive and moralistic, says Spencer Wong Kwong-yiu, managing director of McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong. 'When you watch one of those commercials, you know a government logo will flash at the end. It's predictable and has less impact.' 
Eugene Tsoh Yue-ching, executive creative director at Ogilvy Advertising Hong Kong, reckons APIs sometimes try to stuff too much into a typical 30-second spot. 
'If you have too many messages that aren't even entertaining, consumers are going to tune out. They aren't paid to watch your ad,' he says.
Rob Campbell, a brand strategist at consultancy Sunshine, says some public interest campaigns fail because they represent a 'Band-Aid' approach that doesn't get to the core of the issue. 
'The problem with a lot of government advertising - though not all - is that it is done to show the government is doing something,' he says. 
Citing the 'Not Now, Not Ever' anti-drug campaign, Campbell says: 'People see it, people talk about it. Everybody wins, except the people taking the drugs because the message is not resonating with them. It's not addressing the actual driving forces.' 
The HK$2.6 million, two-year advertising blitz commissioned by the Security Bureau's Narcotics Division features harrowing testimony from drug users about consequences such as developing incontinence and ugly sores.
The campaign has drawn mixed responses, with recovering addict and filmmaker Paul Boyle saying it doesn't go far enough in scaring drug users. 
'The thing about drugs is that the fear of getting caught is greater than the fear of dying or urinating too much on a bus,' he says. 
To SkyHigh Creative Partners, the agency behind the anti-drug ads, they have fulfilled the government's brief to 'tell the truth about drugs'. 
A consultant at SkyHigh Creative (a joint venture between Commercial Radio and St James' Settlement charity) says the agency interviewed youngsters, social workers and former addicts to identify 10 of the most disturbing cases. These became the focus of its ads targeting different kinds of users and were tested on youth focus groups before their release.
But Campbell says: 'I'd ask, 'Has drug use gone down?' If not, you can argue there is a fundamental issue that hasn't been addressed.'
At the Information Services Department (ISD), which co-ordinates the commissioning of public interest campaigns, assistant director of publicity and promotions Brett Free says assessment of APIs is subjective.
In commissioning ad campaigns, the government cannot operate like  firms such as McDonald's, which have a clear target market, Free says.
'We have to be all things to all people. Not everyone understands the complexity of having a TV message that's easily understood by the majority of Hong Kong people. We're using public resources so we have to appeal to the broad public.' 
This scattershot method, however, may ultimately limit the effectiveness of an ad, says head of planning at DDB Hong Kong, Milo Chao Tong-wen.  
'These ads try to reach everyone, but 'everyone' doesn't actually need to quit drugs, for instance. You need to take a much more focused approach and understand who you are targeting. Putting an anti-drug warning on the side of a bus? I'm not sure if that's the best idea. A better way might be putting more ads at the customs counter.'
And the way APIs are tendered doesn't lend itself to producing clear, lively messages. Typically,  the process begins when a bureau asks the ISD for a block of air-time from the slots that television and radio stations are required to reserve for public interest broadcasts. Once it's approved, officers in the bureau write a brief outlining the aim, target audience and key messages.
The ISD then helps the bureau issue formal invitations to approved agencies to submit pitches  and quotations, with between four and eight companies shortlisted to make presentations. 
Proposals are awarded points by separate committees on ideas and price and the campaign with the highest score is usually awarded the job.
Usually only one or two agencies come close to delivering what the selection committees want, but the decision on how much to spend and which agency gets the campaign ultimately rests with the commissioning department, Free says. 
Most allocate HK$350,000 to HK$450,000 for each API, including translated versions. Such small projects seldom attract international 4As agencies, which are used to working with million-dollar budgets from corporate clients. That leaves independent production houses which are too small to devote resources to media planning - conducting research to decide on the optimum combination of media channels and ad spots.
But ad professionals say the quality and success of a public interest campaign isn't always limited by the size of its ad budget. 
Having different APIs loosely overseen by one department often leads to diffused messages, says McCann's Spencer Wong.
'They're not close enough to the ground,' he says. 'Some officials can see the idea, but at the end of the day, it has to go through too many people and you never get anything sharp or edgy. They go for what's safest,' he says.'These ads represent the government - they should be done more creatively. But right now it's like a university [lecture].' 
That's not to say APIs are necessarily dull and dreary. For instance, a 2005 safe sex ad commissioned by the Health Bureau which featured two pairs of feet dancing to the Blue Danube won first prize at the Mobius Advertising Awards in the US.
Tsoh liked the Let's Keep Hong Kong Clean commercial, saying its lively dance segments using brushes and brooms would appeal to anyone from a child to a 70-year-old. 'The only problem is in its execution - the choice of dancers and background made it look old-fashioned.' 
He also cites this year's swine flu commercial featuring cartoon pig McDull as an effective educational message aimed at the mass market. 
'It was easy to digest and highly recognisable,' he says. 'The government may have worthy messages but they need to find more interesting ways to deliver them.'
Chao says officials need to be more mindful of their approach to campaigns. 'Government ads usually try to create a sense of fear or guilt in the people targeted, but actually this can backfire.' 
Ultimately, officials have to figure out what kind of campaign is needed to achieve their goal, whether it's reducing plastic bag use, curbing domestic violence or promoting equal opportunity.
'Often a client comes saying, 'I need a TVC [commercial]'. But if an agency has integrity they'll say, 'I can't tell you right now that that's what you need',' Chao says. 'Not every campaign starts with an ad.'



Nixed messages