TTT: Brilliant Thai Ads
Thais seem to be born with a gene akin to shopping. Shopping is a highly advanced form of life in the Land of the Unworried. When a Thai doesn’t shop he or she is thinking about what to shop next. Which leads us to the topic: Somehow you have to promote all those good things people shall buy. Right. We’re talking about Thai advertisers. They’re some of the best in today’s highly paid dream factory of marketing and branding.
Ok, there’s the common Thai ad making cheap fun of others. Ridiculousness and the hyper katoey are other common features. But there’s the much grander world of globally recognized Thai advertisers. Recently, in Miami, the Clio Awards festival was held – the ad world’s version of the Oscars. The whole ad world is there. And Thai advertisers creamed off Silver Awards.
One could write a dissertation about the virtuosity and visuality of Thai creative directors. Let’s keep it simple. They’re good. They’re damn good. It’s not the nightly soap opera worth watching. It’s those ads inbetween that are worth watching. And you wouldn’t believe it: Whereas non-Thais consider it a deprivation of personal freedom to be exposed to ads, most Thai people love to watch them.
And by the way: With those ads we start a new category: Top Thai Things. Outstanding things, persons and ideas made in Thailand. The next topic in the pipeline? Bangkok’s best cocktail – a Chocolate Martini.
You know a TTT? Drop an email.
Back to those intriguing, stunning, aesthetically outstanding artworks of Thai ads. For good reasons Thailand has become a font of brilliantly off-the-wall TV spots. Judge for yourself:
In the first Clio-winner, titled Shakespearean Gecko, a blooming romance between a pair of lizards is thwarted when the piece of ceiling tile they’re standing on cracks, sending them tumbling to their deaths. The people who witness the tragedy are crestfallen and vow to use only Shera brand ceiling board in the future:
The second spot, for Sylvania light blubs, builds on the idea that ghosts are scary only when it’s dark, while in bright light they become rather silly. A countryside family enjoys a daytime picnic while calmly observing the absurd, unscary ghosts who try to haunt them – one of which turns out to be not a ghost at all – just a transvestite. There you go again, a katoey! But, for about the first time, not a degraded one:
Very cute … Make these a regular feature, devote a whole section to them!
Good idea Chris.
There are tons of excellent Thai ads, one could dedicate a blog to them.
Maybe an add-of-the-month will do?
BangkokDan
How about once a week and then after a while put them all on a separate blog or YouTube channel just for wacky Thai TV ads.
I think you have hit upon something as there are a ton of visually talented people in Bangkok and the ads end up being the place they can actually make a living, express themselves and not get in trouble with the Ministry of Culture. The ads are bringing the wild and wacky creativity deeply rooted in Thailand’s visual history to life into the modern world, free of all the burdens of “high” culture and “artistic” pretense.
As a starter Chris I created this new category Top Thai Things.
Anything goes. Ads, food, a gallery, a hotel …
As mentioned, anybody being stunned by something originally and authentically or wacky Thai, please drop a line.
TTTs will appear in loose order. The more the better.
BangkokDan
I am sure you are familiar with the wonderful compilation of unique and wonderful everyday Thai stuff in the book VERY THAI … For those readers around the world who do not have access to the book, perhaps the authors wouldn’t mind the occasional reference to a few of the many examples … Especially if you always added a link to AsiaBooks or Amazon …
Thank you ChrisIPS for your comments on Very Thai. The book is available worldwide through Thames & Hudson and Amazon, etc. I’m happy for people to reference or quote lines from Very Thai, but any significant extract that provides content for a publication or website else needs permission.
Yes, Thai ads are great. I’ve got a chapter on them in my upcoming book, which is about Thai creative culture. So it’ll include lots of other top Thai things too. Any suggestions gratefully received and credited. I intend to have a forum on my website (http://www.verythai.com) when it’s finished, and I have one on the Very Thai Facebook group too.
Just after watching the Shakespearean Gecko I felt like the guys in the ad. A gecko fell out of my aircon to the ground, splat! It scurried away injured, leaving its multi-severed tail to wriggle. I know many Thais recoil at geckos as unlucky (unless they’ve got two tails), but I’ve always liked them, so I feel awful. I don’t know if it’s the gecko’s karma, mine or Mitsubishi’s – or whether it’s just Groundhog Day …
Good to see you here Phil – we had met in another time yeeeears ago @ Metro …
Added a hyperlink to Very Thai.
BangkokDan
Is that Dan who worked at Metro and Real.Time?
Thanks for the hyperlink. Another spur to me actually getting the website finished.