ADWATCH: Local heroes touch the heart and stay top of mind for Thais

The popularity of country music legend Ad Carabao kept Carabou Daeng at the top of the recall chart yet again, with his appearance in ads for the energy drink brand as well as third-placed Chang beer.

However, the Government's ban on alcohol and 'stamina' drink ads between 5am and 10pm in a bid to curb the number of traffic accidents is likely to affect the outcome of future recall surveys.

In the latest installment of his 'Worshipping our great warriors' campaign, Ad Carabao tells the story of Thai boxer Nai Kanom Tom, who used the art of muay tai to fight the Burmese. In the Chang beer ads, he sings about the courage and generosity of the Thai people.

Energy drink brand Krating Daeng puts the spotlight on the man in the street. Agency Creative Juice/G1 felt that heroism in all its glory was largely an "impossible mission" in most people's lives. More realistic, it said, were the hundreds of smaller acts of goodwill. In one spot, a noodle-seller rescues a little girl who, engrossed in her ice-cream, doesn't realise she's heading for a fall.

With M-150, energy drinks take up three of the top five slots as companies launch aggressive campaigns back-to-back to maintain share of an increasingly competitive market.

Meanwhile, one unusual listing is Knorr Seasoning in 10th place. Boasting neither a large media budget nor a product that makes for the most interesting of TVCs, the J. Walter Thompson campaign still managed to tickle the funny bone and remain top-of-mind. The spot features a woman whose dead mother visits her in her dream to complain about the lack of variety in the food she's offered on spirit day. Enter Knorr.