Face matters more than actor's ability in Asia

Much of their success owes to the quality of acting that comes out of Thailand's TV boxes. A case in point is this year's Media Spikes and AdFest's Best of Show winner, JEH United Bangkok's highly acclaimed 'miniseries' campaign for face cream brand Smooth E, or last year's winning work for Yellow Pages produced by Creative Juice/G1.

What the two award-laden TVCs have in common is the casting of average-looking talents for humorous, character-driven roles. But step outside the Thai borders, and you'll often find that the quality of talent falls drastically short.

According to Jureeporn Thaidamrong, founder and ECD of JEH United Bangkok, it's all about culture: "In Thailand, the local clients know that local consumers love to be entertained. They realise that humour is one of the best ways to create an emotional connection and strengthen brand awareness.

"But I think the culture is different in other countries. I know for our regional markets, we have to make sure the look is accepted in every country," she says.

Robert Gaxiola, executive creative director at BatesAsia Singapore, agrees that the dearth of quality talent outside Thailand may be no more than skin-deep.

"Most clients want their talents to have a pan-Asian look, which is a constraint," Gaxiola notes. "It narrows down our choices so much that you literally end up seeing the same faces in one commercial break. In our attempt to appeal to everybody we end up with little more than a pretty face on screen and an average performance."

Aside from a brief's aesthetic requirements, Gaxiola also points out that the bulk of regional work often doesn't even require dialogue. "For regional and worldwide work, it's so impractical to write dialogue into a script. The headache of translating a spot into over 15 languages is almost unbearable to most clients." For this reason alone, acting talent does often take a back seat to having a certain 'look' criteria.

Indeed, Michael Heldebrandt, managing director of brand and communications at FedEx Express Asia-Pacific, argues that looks are key from the logistics giant's branding perspective. "The 'look' as it relates to the way the talent projects himself or herself is very important. The ability of a talent to maintain the friendly demeanour, one that is characteristic of a FedEx courier, while keeping the energy level high is always what we look for."

Michael Evans, regional executive producer for Wine Studios in China, surmises, "Actually, I don't think there is necessarily a quality problem at all. After all, a pretty face is still a pretty face, and while most TVCs are produced without the actors having to act or even speak for that matter, their experience is not necessarily a deciding factor."

The consensus, then, appears to be that the quality of non-Thai talent is not the issue. The real issue is the traditional belief that a certain look will create a stronger emotional connection to consumers than character-driven spots.

But as media becomes increasingly fragmented, with consumers empowered to avoid dull ads with a simple click on their PVR, perhaps advertisers elsewhere may be looking at the Thai way. "To be honest, I think people can relate to any character if they are doing or saying something interesting," says Gaxiola. "I think the person's race matters very little to people. They don't have to be a perfect 10 either. Consumers just want to be entertained."