SINGAPORE - RI stands for "Remain Indoors", while NYGH means "Now You Go Home".

To cheer people up during this period of home-based learning (HBL), advertising agency Tribal Worldwide has created a school badge meme that plays on the initials and slogans of schools, including Raffles Institution (RI) and Nanyang Girls' High School (NYGH).

Across Singapore, students in primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute switched to lessons at home from Wednesday (May 19), as a result of the recent spike in Covid-19 infections, especially among children.

Foreseeing this period to be a stressful one, a team from Tribal Worldwide decided to do something to encourage people amid the flurry of negative news.

The meme was partly inspired by an incident on Saturday (May 15) at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) involving a woman who refused to wear her mask when asked by a safe distancing ambassador. The woman said instead: "If you have no badge, why are you asking me to do something?"

Mr Jeff Cheong, deputy chief executive at Tribal Worldwide, said that " with HBL starting on Wednesday, and being inspired by the MBS incident, we thought it was quite apt to bring it all together in this meme".

The 45-year-old hopes the meme would provide respite and "bring out in a lighthearted way, the message to stay at home and remain safe during this period".

The school badge meme reached about 14,000 viewers in the first three hours since it was first posted on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon by the agency.

Ashlynn Teo, a Secondary 3 student from Nanyang Girls' High School, said she found the meme "quite innovative" and humorous, though she wondered if people may be offended.

While people feel disappointed at having to return to HBL, she said, with the meme, "they will feel more positive about it".