Fortune teller who read fortunes of Noah Yap, Maxi Lim & live viewers is actually Manulife marketing stunt

Maybe you can be your own fortune teller.

Olivia Lin | April 03, 2019, 07:58 PM

In January 2019, a character named Mrs Fortune Teller suddenly appeared on Facebook and Instagram.

Photo via Facebook / Mrs Fortune Teller

Donning a gypsy costume complete with a veil and feathers in her hair, she claimed to offer a glimpse into the future to anyone who dared see it.

Telltale signs that she’s fake

But the interesting thing is that her tarot cards seemed to take on a local flavour.

Some of her cards include “Gates of the Unknown”, which features an ERP gantry above a door frame, accompanied by the description:

“The Gates of the Unknown reminds you of a world of uncertainty that comes with being a homeowner. Expect to be fenced in by terms and acronyms that will only cause more confusion, so beware of the SSD. As the world turns, this card warns of uneasiness, both psychological and financial.”

Pretty cool.

Live session with Noah Yap and Maxi Lim

On March 25, 2019, she did a live session with Ah Boys to Men stars Noah Yap and Maxi Lim.

Photo courtesy of Manulife

In the hour long session, there were viewers who streamed in from Facebook and Instagram, eager to have their fortunes read.

Many of the questions revolved around striking rich, finding a significant other, and having kids (note the theme of adulting).

Even as a fake fortune teller, she seemed to be able to tackle the questions well by somehow creating a link between the cards drawn and the advices she gave.

Practical advice

Someone asked if freelancing or working full time would be better for him, to which the “Bubbling Predicament” card was drawn.

The fortune teller pointed out that since both the liquid and the pearls are sweet, the viewer had a freedom of choice.

Photo courtesy of Manulife

She then suggested:

“Perhaps you can try out something freelance first. If that doesn’t work out for you, don’t worry there’s always the solidity of a full time career that could await you at the end of it. I have a feeling you’re still young and in your prime, so no harm trying different things out first.”

Which is a pretty generic but solid advice, to be fair.

Not so practical questions

Less serious questions include someone asking if she would meet BTS (Korean boy band).

The card drawn was “The Towering Pulse”, which the fortune teller said might be causing some stress to the person who asked, since she probably thinks about it a lot.

Photo courtesy of Manulife

However, there was good news for the BTS fan.

The fortune teller said that the asker will most probably meet BTS one day, as all the signs pointed towards yes.

Pretty bold claim, for a fictitious fortune teller.

Perhaps the closest she got to having telepathic abilities was during an encounter with a Facebook viewer named Edward Choy.

She immediately recognised him as the actor from Zombiepura and mentioned many specific details about him, such as being married and having a poodle as a pet.

But y’know, maybe they’re friends. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was a marketing campaign

On April 1, 2019, Mrs Fortune Teller posted a video on her Facebook page.

As it turns out, the whole thing was actually an April Fool’s joke, and a marketing campaign by insurance company Manulife Singapore.

The campaign was developed to spark conversations among millennials about the challenges of adulting, and to educate them on the steps they can take to regain control over the unknowns of life.

Photo courtesy of Manulife

Remember the localised “tarot” cards Mrs Fortune Teller used in her live sessions?

Well, the “tarot” cards have now become a gateway to introducing insurance plans.

Photo courtesy of Manulife

Photo courtesy of Manulife

To her credit, at least she managed to create a link between the fictitious cards and lessons in real life.

And insurance plans.

Top photo courtesy of Manulife.

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Mrs Fortune Teller did a total of three live sessions:

  • March 20 on love and career.
  • March 25 with Noah Yap and Maxi Lim.
  • March 28 with Chua Enlai.

Find out more about the campaign here.

As a follow up, Mrs Fortune Teller will have a roving fortune telling booth at Orchard Road on April 6.

She will be giving out her localised tarot cards that day, so catch her if you’re there.

This sponsored post in collaboration with Manulife makes this adulting writer happy that she has control over her own life. (But does she, really?)