Salt Buries True Flavours

Singapore's most beloved flavours are disappearing in plain sight. Hidden beneath familiar dishes lie an invisible threat that has slowly buried the authentic tastes of local delights and dulled taste buds over time. TBWA\Singapore and the Health Promotion Board are now making the invisible visible with 'Salt Buries True Flavours', a campaign that exposes Singapore's sodium overconsumption and encourages residents to reset their taste buds in three weeks.

With Singapore residents unwittingly consuming 3,600mg of sodium daily – nearly double the World Health Organisation's recommendation of less than 2,000mg (approximately just under one teaspoon of salt) – and dulling their taste buds in the process, the campaign uses provocative campaign visuals to generate awareness of this ‘salt blindness’. It then transforms the conversation from problem to solution through a key insight: taste receptor cells regenerate approximately every 10-14 days. By consistently reducing sodium intake for about three weeks, there would likely be at least one turnover cycle of taste receptor cells which could help Singapore residents reset their dulled taste buds.

A key element of the campaign is The Gallery of Hidden Salt, which transforms one of Singapore's busiest commuter corridors into an immersive art space where three artists reveal excess sodium hiding in everyday meals through visceral art expressions. John Knuth enlists flies as artistic collaborators, using their regurgitations to paint the hidden sodium in our meals. Gong Hua sculpts salt content into stark white cubes, forcing viewers to confront the physical reality of their overconsumption. Niceaunties reimagines hidden salt as invasive creatures in her Auntieverse, colonising Singapore's beloved hawker favourites. Together, their works aim to incite and surprise, turning an invisible health issue into something seen and felt. The Gallery of Hidden Salt will run from 26th February – 25th March 2026 at Orchard MRT linkway between ION Orchard and Wisma Atria.

With the invisible threat exposed, the campaign also offers hope through a retro-inspired film that demonstrates how taste buds can be reset in just three weeks. It follows the protagonist as his ancestors stage a playful three-week intervention from beyond to help reclaim his true sense of taste by offering practical tips like choosing lower-sodium options and taking less sauce, while debunking common myths such as using gourmet salts as healthier alternatives or flushing out salty meals by drinking more water.