Mr Lim also created a Facebook page for Holly, who has gained about 800 “friends” to date.

While some netizens left messages of support, along with suggestions on how she could earn money, there were others who left nasty insults.

No one donated a single cent.

Mr Lim said he was counting on these responses.

“This project is designed to create a controversy. It doesn’t matter whether the comments are positive or negative. What’s important is that people respond to it,” he said.

At the height of the controversy, Mr Lim slipped in his advertising message – a note from Holly that she now plans to “work, save and invest her money” with a foreign bank here.

His project is now in the process of being graded.

Mr Adam Penenberg, author of the book Viral Loop, which discusses viral marketing, said that Mr Lim’s project is a “brilliant idea”.

Mr Penenberg, 47, a New York University journalism professor who is visiting Singapore for work, told The New Paper: “He is able to grab attention and it probably cost him next to nothing.”

Danger of a backlash

But Mr Penenberg cautioned that if this is a real marketing campaign, there’s a danger it may backfire after the netizens find out that Holly and her story were made up.

“It depends on whether the people feel betrayed or not (after learning the truth),” he said.

When we told Mr Perry Tan, 35, an HR professional in a bank, about the school project, he said: “I don’t think a real bank would do this because the storyline sounds juvenile and may attract negative publicity.”

But Ms Joscelin Kwek, 28, a corporate communication manager disagreed.

She said:“I think the student is quite clever. There’s no problem because no one gave any money to Holly.”