It was to promote The Sunday Times revamp, including Sumiko Tan's new Sunday interview series, Lunch With Sumiko.
The next day, she was replaced by a giraffe (I mean in the ad), but the recently promoted Straits Times executive editor's picture still appeared, albeit smaller.
The day after that, the giraffe was replaced by the shorter-necked Selena Tan, and Sumiko was pictured with Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung.
Perhaps feeling the need to explain why he would be in a picture with Sumiko, the minister posted this on Facebook:
Then on Sunday, after all that build-up, Lunch With Sumiko finally dropped.
Since then, I've read more about the article than the article itself.
Must Share News: Lunch With Straits Times Editor Sumiko Tan Was So Boring, We Lost Our Appetite
This Sumiko Tan interview is basically a Yelp review in which a potential prime minister also happens to be there. https://t.co/kaAu9VwvCy— Kirsten Han (韩俐颖） (@kixes) January 15, 2017
Is it just me or do people dislike Sumiko Tan? I thought everyone adored her column.— petty & proud (@luxedlyani) January 15, 2017
Lunch with Sumiko interview marks official end of journalism https://t.co/lgDiyuTVEC pic.twitter.com/wMMDQUvP2R— New Nation (@NewNationsg) January 16, 2017
Ironically, by discussing (and dissing) Lunch With Sumiko so much, the haters are doing a better job at promoting it than those half-page ads ever did.
What has gone unmentioned is that a week earlier, The Sunday Times ran a somewhat less-heralded interview with the other Education Minister, Mr Ng Chee Meng.
By... Sandra Davie, the senior education correspondent.
Maybe they had brunch.
Read Sumiko Tan: Singapore will miss her when she’s gone
