ANALYSIS: Advertising - Thinking Thai keeps sparkle alive. Thai agencies have zeroed in on the country's love of a hearty chuckle to create fresh work

<p>It may have been just barely pipped to the post for the Best of the </p><p>Best prize at last month's Asian Advertising Awards, but Thai entries </p><p>endeared themselves to the regional advertising community with their </p><p>trademark humour, wit and edge. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As other markets in Asia continue to blame the late '90s financial </p><p>crisis and shrinking ad budgets to justify a poor showing, both factors </p><p>don't appear to have stopped Thailand from producing some of the most </p><p>creative and inventive campaigns in the region. This despite </p><p>challengingly low budgets that are also a fact of life in Thailand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Which may explain why Leo Burnett Thailand's managing director Pornsiri </p><p>Rojmeta is so nonchalant about the issue of Thai creativity. "Thai ads </p><p>are creative. Everybody knows about that already." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Pornsiri's right. Thailand continues to rack up awards from top shows </p><p>around the globe, including five of the past 13 Best of Best prizes at </p><p>media's Asian Advertising Awards, although it lost the top prize to </p><p>Mumbai this year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thailand was one of two Asian markets along with Japan to make the top </p><p>10 list of most awarded countries in last year's second annual Gunn </p><p>Report. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Compiled by Donald Gunn, Leo Burnett's former director of creative </p><p>resources worldwide, the creative dynamism of eighth-placed Thailand is </p><p>unmatched in Southeast Asia. Its creative vitality places it ahead of </p><p>regional economic powerhouses like Singapore (in 10th place) or Hong </p><p>Kong (16th spot). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But the point is to determine what makes Thai advertising sparkle, to </p><p>find an explanation for its success. Is there a uniquely Thai creative </p><p>process. Some strange secret? Is it something in the water? Perhaps the </p><p>water theory isn't too far off. "Look at the food we eat - it's spicy, </p><p>it's sour, it's hot, but it's never ever bland. And food is very </p><p>reflective of a society," says Pornsiri. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Indeed, relatively undisturbed by colonisation or war, Thailand has </p><p>developed an expressive culture that stands apart from its neighbours, </p><p>says Kriengsak Niratpattanasai, social commentator and committee member </p><p>of the Top Advertising Contest of Thailand Awards. "In comparison to </p><p>Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism, this culture encourages </p><p>individualism, youthful idealism and tolerance for divergent views," </p><p>Kriengsak says. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Charuvarn Vansiri, chairwoman and chief executive of Lowe Lintas and </p><p>Partners, agrees. "I think it goes back to Thailand being a free </p><p>country, never having been colonised, so we are very tolerant of other </p><p>beliefs. That fosters an environment where the creative mind </p><p>thrives." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Charuvarn is speaking from experience - her agency's creative thinking </p><p>earned it a place among the world's top 10 creative agencies last </p><p>year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"There's a tremendous lust for life here and that comes through in </p><p>everything, in the food, in the way people express themselves, the </p><p>nightlife," says Philip Eisenbeiss, senior vice-president and business </p><p>development director at Lowe Lintas. "When it comes to the visual arts, </p><p>Thailand is absolutely, stunningly rich. There are so many great Thai </p><p>artists, great draftsmen, you can see their work in the architecture, in </p><p>the wall paintings and murals in the temples. There's a great natural </p><p>talent that fits in well with advertising." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Yet despite the wealth of native talent, many cite Australian Barry </p><p>Owen, who headed Ogilvy & Mather's creative team, as the man who put the </p><p>local industry on the winning track. Owen, now 54 and retired, sparked a </p><p>trend in the late 1980s by creating television spots for Singha beer </p><p>that incorporated lush scenes of Thai life coupled with conservation - </p><p>images and ideas never before seen in Thai advertising. Younger </p><p>creatives like Ctar Sudasana Na Ayudhaya of Siam Studio, and Thor </p><p>Santasiri of TBWA Next & Triplet Advertising followed suit, eager to </p><p>look to their own culture for inspiration. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Korn Tepintarapiraksa, creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, also </p><p>adopted the idea. "I try to project the reality of Thai life in my work. </p><p>It can't feel fake at all, the characters have to be sincere for </p><p>me." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thinking Thai has paid off for Korn, 45. He picked up the Best of the </p><p>Best at the recent Bangkok Art Directors Awards for Wrangler Jeans' </p><p>"Torture" TVC, which was a serious contender for the top prize in the </p><p>Asian Advertising Awards. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I give credit to Barry Owen. He used to tell me, 'If you don't feel </p><p>free, you can't create good work.' That's what I remind my team, to do </p><p>whatever they want - keeping the budget in mind, of course. Later we can </p><p>figure out how to make the idea relevant to the product." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In a nation that enjoys a good chuckle, thinking Thai has also </p><p>encouraged creatives to douse their work with a liberal dose of humour. </p><p>Gunn describes humour as one of the more powerful tools in advertising. </p><p>The use of it, he adds, is particularly strong in the top-ranked markets </p><p>like the US and Britain. It also accounts for Thailand's strong showing </p><p>in Gunn's 2000 report. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Thailand, the humour is both light and dark, evident in the "Torture" </p><p>TVC. A young woman washing her philandering partner's jeans and finds a </p><p>note in one pocket and a red bra in another. Angered by her find, she </p><p>takes her frustration out on the jeans, literally torturing it with </p><p>every brush stroke. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Having an understanding client helps too. Korn says: "Fortunately, with </p><p>Wrangler, the client was very trusting. They didn't really agree to the </p><p>idea at first but they finally trusted our judgement and they were very </p><p>happy with the results. I give a lot of credit to good clients, clients </p><p>who let us take risks." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of course ideas that win awards are pointless unless they sell the </p><p>product, but a focus on the consumer is at the heart of the best Thai </p><p>work. Ethan Schoonover, e-business director of Lowe Lintas, observes: "I </p><p>think it's something cultural, maybe it's to do with the service culture </p><p>here, but there is a tremendous focus on what will please the consumer." </p><p>The best creative executives are focused on what the consumer responds </p><p>to, rather than - as Korn says - just "trying to impress the </p><p>juries". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So what is it that speaks to Thai consumers? "Thais want to be </p><p>entertained. People's lives, especially since the economic crash, are </p><p>difficult and they want something to make them feel good and get their </p><p>minds off the bad things," says Maitree Ariyasajjakorn, executive </p><p>creative director at local agency SC Matchbox and a Cannes award winner. </p><p>"Finding a new way to do this is my challenge." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Another possible source of the fresh ideas is the youthful idealism that </p><p>Kriengsak mentioned. At 37, Eisenbess confesses he's already beginning </p><p>to feel like a veteran thanks to art directors as young as 22 taking </p><p>hold of the reins. "It's true, the average age is very young, even the </p><p>account executives are really young," he says. "You walk around and you </p><p>see all these kids, and then you go to Hong Kong or Singapore and the </p><p>age difference is quite dramatic. And that's a big part of it - it's a </p><p>young industry, and those that aren't young physically are young at </p><p>heart." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Back in Burnett's Idea Room, Pornsiri contemplates the future of the </p><p>industry. "It's a difficult time for advertisers, you have to compete </p><p>with the remote control, the web, so many more distractions." As well, </p><p>the financial crisis has taken a toll on many of Thailand's smaller </p><p>agencies, and the larger ones have been forced to come up with leaner </p><p>management strategies to stay competitive. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But fortunately there's a crop of upcoming creatives who have retained </p><p>the Thai touch, complete with the dark humour, which makes Thai </p><p>advertising so memorable. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Maitree of SC Matchbox recounts: "As part of a workshop we run, we gave </p><p>some students a brief to develop a Nike ad. And one of the students came </p><p>up with an ad that featured a Nike-clad jogger, walking his dog. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The jogger is holding a leash, and the leash is attached to a collar - </p><p>but in the collar is just the dog's head, leaving a trail of blood. Nike </p><p>shoes make you run fast! What a great way to say that!" </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Maitree can't wait to set his proteges loose on the world. And with </p><p>cutting-edge ideas like these in the works, Thai entries could well take </p><p>home the prizes for a long time to come. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>