Stop at Two ("Girl or Boy, Two Is Enough")

Why it works

Two little sisters, one visibly older than the other, share an apple under an umbrella. From 1972 Singapore's Family Planning and Population Board blanketed the island with the message "Girl or boy, two is enough" on posters, bus panels and magazine ads, on television and cinema screens, and even in songs. The details were deliberate: the iconic 1978 poster shows two girls to counter the preference for sons, with an age gap to encourage parents to space their children. It is studied as a rare case of advertising working hand in hand with hard policy, and as a cautionary tale. The posters ran alongside disincentives for larger families, from reduced tax relief to lower priority for housing and school places, and the drive worked so well that by 1987 the government reversed course with a new slogan: "Have three or more, if you can afford it." That year the Los Angeles Times reported that the campaign had worked too well.