Written by Every year on 4th May, fans all around the world celebrate Star Wars Day, as a tribute to the beloved movie series that launched a cult following.
What initially started out as a pun on the famous phrase “May the Force be with you” in the movies eventually solidified 4th May as the official Star Wars Day. And every year, brands take part in the Star Wars fun by posting some lighthearted content.
Now that the day is over, here’s a compilation of 7 brands who ushered in the Star Wars Day fun, with funny and ingenious posts.
1. Singapore Army
Image adapted from: The Singapore Army
One of the earliest Star Wars Day posts that we spotted was from none other than our very own Singapore Army, who designed their very own Star Wars poster featuring the Death Star, X-Wing fighters and of course our men in green complete with laser blasts from their SAR21s.
While many lauded the Army for coming up with a pretty creative post to commemorate Star Wars Day, some others commented about the origins of the term “Stormtrooper”, and how it was coined by Nazi Germany in reference to the troops in their Imperial Army. Though, we have to say that it’s really much ado about nothing, and definitely not something that warrants any controversy.
Image adapted from: The Singapore Army
Post aside, the Army also leveraged on the buzz generated to do a publicity plug for the upcoming Army Open House. Playing on the joke about stormtroopers and their terrible aim, the team invited the public to come down to see the Army’s actual capabilities, and also to test their aiming prowess to see if they can shoot better than the Army’s troopers.
2. Republic of Singapore Air Force
Image adapted from: The Republic of Singapore Air Force
Not to be outdone by their Army counterparts, the RSAF also joined in the Star Wars Day fun with a post of their own.
To highlight their air capabilities, the RSAF team designed a no-frills graphic showcasing their CH-47F Chinook Helicopter, against a backdrop that Star Wars fans might recognise. Yeap, it’s the twilight backdrop of Tatooine, with the twin moons as well as a very cute Baby Yoda in the corner.
Rounding off the post is a very simple message inspired by the iconic movie phrase. Not the Force, but the Air Force, be with you.
3. Republic of Singapore Navy
Image adapted from: Republic of Singapore Navy
Rounding off the trifecta of Services from our Armed Forces is the Navy’s take on May the Fourth. Similar to the RSAF, the post features one of the Navy’s iconic hardware with a twist: the unmanned surface vessel in action, with some very familiar droids on board.
While the graphic is somewhat of a low effort kind of illustration, it nonetheless conveys the lighthearted humour of Star Wars Day, and goes to show how witty the team can be in bringing across the message of their brand while incorporating the fun of the occasion.
4. Changi General Hospital
Image adapted from: Changi General Hospital
Moving away from the Armed Forces, we came across a heartwarming Star Wars Day tribute by the team at Changi General Hospital (CGH).
Rather than incorporating characters from the movies in their post, the CGH team decided to do a pretty simple graphic design featuring cartoon characters representing the various disciplines in the hospital. The post is then headlined by the phrase “The Care Is Strong With This One”, which is a play on another famous line in the Star Wars movie.
Kudos to the CGH team for their originality and also succinctly bringing across the very important message on how they are committed to providing quality patient care.
5. Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre
Image adapted from: Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre
If you’re familiar with our Police Force’s social media game, you might be familiar with how each major neighbourhood’s police centre (NPC) has their own social media page, and that they’ve been known to ride on various trends very successfully in the past.
To commemorate Star Wars Day this year, the team from the Rochor NPC posted a photo featuring very impressive looking police officers on duty at the Bugis vicinity, with various Star Wars elements expertly photoshopped in.
To add the icing on the cake, the team snuck in a cheeky little addition to the caption accompanying the photo, which some might recognise as the hand gesture that is synonymous with the rival Star Trek franchise.
While this is sure to get fans from both sides all hot and bothered, fret not – the Rochor NPC team made sure to caveat in the hashtags that #thatsignisforstartrek and #weknow. Definitely a well thought-out tongue-in-cheek caption that delivered on all fronts, and worthy of a chef’s kiss.
6. Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA)
Image adapted from: DSTA Defence Science and Technology Agency
Another organisation that we saw ride on the Star Wars Day celebration fun was the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).
Featuring what we’re sure is a self-drawn rendition of a very hip Yoda, the post is a very simple publicity plug for the DSTA’s BrainHack 2022 event. Showcasing the mentors would be guiding participants in the event, the post talks about how tech is a gateway to unlocking many possibilities in the world today.
Overall it was nothing too fancy or complicated, just a basic ad with a tribute to the May Fourth shenanigans.
7. IKEA
Image adapted from: IKEA
Rounding off our list is none other than IKEA, whom many of us would be familiar with for their very strong, witty and trendy social media game. Instead of doing just a single post with the Star Wars flavour, the team at IKEA decided to do a series of images which was in line with the traditional simplicity of IKEA’s product advertisements.
Incorporating various puns and iconic terms from the Star Wars franchise like “New Hope”, “Awaken the Force” and “Resist the Dark Side”, the posts used these tropes as headlines for various products they carried, and then explained the product in the byline for greater detail.
On the whole, it certainly made us chuckle at the punny nature of these terms, and also applaud the IKEA team for leveraging on yet another ‘famous day’ to advertise themselves.
Brands that were strong with the Force
When it comes to social media, brands would have to be constantly on the lookout for new and upcoming trends to leverage content on. This is not only for them to have fun, but to also portray how they have a pretty good grasp on what has been trending on social media.
While viral trends are unpredictable and can happen at any moment, others like Star Wars Day have become somewhat of a regular mainstay every year, giving brands the opportunity to better their attempts from previous years. Overall, it was very fun to see various brands’ creative expressions of May The Fourth in their social media content, and we hope to see more organisations come onboard the Star Wars Day fun in the future.
