In a world of increasingly homogenized advertising, where every brand seems to be selling the same aspirational lifestyle with interchangeable beautiful people doing beautiful things, Thailand stands as a glorious middle finger to convention. The Southeast Asian nation has quietly become the world's most batshit creative laboratory for commercials that make you question your sanity, your emotional stability, and occasionally, the very fabric of reality itself.
Thai commercials exist in two distinct flavors of mindfuckery: absurdist comedy that makes Adult Swim look like PBS Kids, and emotional terrorism designed to reduce you to a sobbing puddle within 30 seconds. There is no in-between. No chill. Just pure, unfiltered creative chaos that somehow sells everything from bug spray to electric fans with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the cerebral cortex.
Let's start with the Chaindrite termite commercial, a masterpiece of bug-based psychological horror that would make Kafka proud. Picture this: a group of termites, portrayed by human actors in brown bodysuits, are systematically destroying a family's wooden home. But these aren't just any termites – they're termites with personality. They have meetings. They have dreams. They have a whole damn society.
The commercial, directed by the legendary Thanonchai Sornsriwichai (more on this mad genius later), follows the termite community as they gleefully munch through support beams and furniture. Their leader gives impassioned speeches about their glorious mission of destruction. It's like watching a tiny, six-legged version of Braveheart, except instead of fighting for freedom, they're fighting for the right to eat your house.
Then comes the twist – Chaindrite insecticide enters the picture, and suddenly our protagonists are dying horrific deaths. The commercial makes you root for the termites, then brutally murders them in front of your eyes. It's advertising as psychological warfare, and it works. The ad went viral globally, racking up millions of views and leaving viewers both disturbed and oddly compelled to buy bug spray.
Then there's the Krungsri First Choice "Crocodile" commercial, which takes the concept of office anxiety to hallucinatory new heights. The ad features a man walking into a waiting room at what appears to be a loan office. Normal enough, right?
Created by The Leo Burnett Group Thailand, the ad brilliantly captures the intimidation many feel when dealing with financial institutions, while simultaneously promising that Krungsri First Choice offers a less threatening alternative. It's bizarre, unsettling, and somehow makes perfect sense in Thailand's advertising ecosystem.
Completing our unholy trinity is the Hatari "My Lord" fan commercial, which might be the most gloriously unhinged 36 seconds in advertising history. The setting is a royal Thai court from centuries past.
Directed by Thanonchai Sornsriwichai for Lowe Bangkok in 2011, this commercial for Hatari electric fans won awards and cemented Thailand's reputation for advertising that defies explanation yet somehow sells products. The slogan? "The ultimate wind power."
Thailand's advertising industry didn't stumble into this creative wonderland by accident. The country has cultivated a unique ecosystem where creativity is prized above all else, and where the boundaries between advertising and entertainment have completely dissolved.
"Thai commercials value 'feeling' over 'thinking,'"
explains Damisa Ongsiriwattana, creative director at Ogilvy & Mather Thailand. This emotional approach gives Thai ads their broad, cross-border appeal, even when the cultural references might be specific to Thailand.
The industry's success can be traced back to the 1970s, when multinational agencies established themselves in Thailand and trained a generation of creative talents. But perhaps more significantly, the Thai government's attempts to control media throughout the 20th century inadvertently fostered a culture that prizes creativity and freedom of expression.
"For most of the 20th century, the Thai government looked to wrangle and control the media's voice to protect their interests and traditional Thai culture,"
notes media analyst Matthaeus Choo in an article for Sinema.SG. "In turn, this formed a strong culture amongst the people where creativity and freedom of expression are prized."
This cultural context created conditions where a career in advertising became highly sought after, attracting Thailand's most creative minds. The result is an industry that punches far above its weight on the global stage, consistently winning international awards despite having ad budgets that pale in comparison to those in the United States or Japan.
At the center of Thailand's advertising revolution are several key figures who have helped define the industry's distinctive voice. None is more influential than Jureeporn Thaidumrong, described by peers as "a famous creative and a true warrior of Thailand's advertising industry."
Thaidumrong founded JEH United (now GREYnJ United ) and has mentored many of today's leading Thai creatives. Her vision and leadership have shaped an industry where women hold significant power – a stark contrast to the male-dominated advertising world in many Western countries.
Then there's Thanonchai Sornsriwichai, the director behind many of Thailand's most iconic commercials, including the Chaindrite termite ad and the Hatari "My Lord" fan commercial. Known for his eccentric visual style, Sornsriwichai has a philosophical approach to his craft.
"I learned about human beings, human thoughts, and human needs,"
he writes on his production company Phenomena's website.
"I learned about the relationship between people's needs and the marketing mechanism. I learned about the advertising role in society."
This deep understanding of human psychology allows Sornsriwichai and his contemporaries to create ads that connect on a visceral level, whether through laughter or tears. Thai directors don't just want you to remember their ads – they want you to feel them in your bones.
Thai television commercials generally fall into two distinct categories: hilarious over-the-top skits and heart-wrenching "sadvertising." Both follow recognizable formulas that have been refined to maximum emotional impact.
The comedic ads feature radical tonal shifts, often with emasculated characters involved in slapstick and over-the-top humor. Sex appeal is another common inclusion, as is physical comedy that transcends language barriers. Even when Thai culture is a consistent theme, these commercials connect globally through their universal emotional appeal and focus on physical humor.
On the flip side, Thai "sadvertising" has become so notorious that it's spawned its own internet challenge: "Try not to cry while watching Thai commercials." These emotional sledgehammers typically play with time, bouncing between past and present to evoke nostalgia. They rarely frame more than two subjects at a time, creating an intimate connection with viewers.
When the camera moves in for a close-up in these tearjerkers, they focus on the important bits of life – touch, letters, or stress-inducing debt. These techniques create a sense of intimacy which invites viewers to project their own memories and experiences onto the advertisement. If all that weren't effective enough, heartrending piano music and a willingness to show macabre imagery ensure the tears will flow.
Both categories almost always only feature the product at the end of the advert. In funny commercials, this placement allows the product to be part of the punchline, further adding to memorability. In sad commercials, the placement overcomes traditional challenges in advertising sensitive products like insurance by first establishing an emotional connection.
Thailand's advertising industry has become a creative powerhouse that influences global trends while maintaining its distinctive local flavor. Thai commercials regularly win at prestigious international festivals like the Cannes Lions, with agencies like Leo Burnett Thailand, Ogilvy & Mather Thailand, and BBDO Bangkok bringing home awards year after year.
The viral nature of these ads has only accelerated in the social media age. What once might have been seen only by Thai audiences now spreads globally within hours, with viewers around the world sharing these bizarre and emotional commercials with captions like "What did I just watch?" and "I'm not crying, you're crying."
This international recognition has made Thailand a destination for advertising talent and has elevated directors like Thanonchai Sornsriwichai to global prominence. Their unique approach to storytelling – unbound by Western conventions and unafraid to push emotional extremes – offers a refreshing alternative to the safe, focus-grouped advertising that dominates many markets.
As global advertising becomes increasingly homogenized, Thailand's distinctive voice stands out more than ever. The country's willingness to embrace the absurd, the emotional, and the downright weird has created a unique space in the advertising world that can't easily be replicated.
"No matter the category, mediocre performances are practically non-existent in Thai commercials,"
notes Choo in the Sinema.SG article.
"There is seemingly no qualms in being the butt of jokes, or in ripping themselves apart for tearjerkers."
This commitment to emotional extremes – whether through laughter or tears – ensures that Thai advertising will continue to captivate global audiences. In a world of skippable ads and shrinking attention spans, Thailand has figured out the secret to making people not just watch commercials, but actively seek them out and share them.
So the next time you're mindlessly scrolling through social media and come across a video of termites having an existential crisis, a crocodile processing loan applications, or a man carrying a reptilian electric fan, take a moment to appreciate the beautiful insanity of Thai advertising. It's a world where creativity knows no bounds, where emotions run to extremes, and where the only rule seems to be: whatever you do, don't be boring.
Because in Thailand's advertising universe, the strangest ideas often make for the most effective commercials. And that's something the rest of the advertising world could learn from – even if they might need to tone down the crocodiles.
