Thai telcos sharpen brands with TV blitz

"We were looking for a simple word that could convey 'mobile operator service' well," said Rungfa Kiatipoj, True Corporation's director, brand management and marketing communications. "So, we looked up the root of the word 'mobile' and found that 'move' was the closest interpretation, and creates differentiation (for us) in the market." The rebranding kicked off with a 60-second 'Faster is better' spot to underline the benefits of speed. It opens with two competitive sperm; the fastest one reaches the ovum and is born. It cuts to two fighting samurai; the fastest survives, while the other dies. Other scenes include children playing musical chairs and competing lovers; in both cases, the faster one wins. "The whole story will allow viewers to understand the advantage of speed," said Rungfa. "In addition to simple story-telling, the visual style and computer graphics reflect the clear concept of hi-speed life from True Move." The TV blitz is supported by print and billboards. The campaign comes as competitor Hutch steps up efforts to sharpen its brand, rolling out its first ad campaign since shifting the business to Ogilvy & Mather after a short stint with Far East DDB. The first spot in Hutch's TV-led branding campaign sets out to build awareness of its new pre-paid promotion, 'Mouth Sabay' (loosely translated as 'talk long without worry'). "There is a fierce price war in the pre-paid phone service category in Thailand among big players such as AIS, Orange and DTAC," said Ogilvy managing partner Rati Panthawi. "We have created a campaign to highlight Hutch's pricing strategy with the first TVC." Titled 'Bicycle', the 15- and 30-second spots show a young boy passing the phone to different people in his neighbourhood, as the caller -- his sister, who is studying outside the city -- tends to make long calls every time she rings home. The voice over reinforces the message in the end, 'Call one hour, and pay one minute'.