Tourism Thailand’s Mini-Film Classified as Creepy by Viewers

[SoFarAndNear]

a charity that helps abuse victims, states that the film does not depict the real world and relationships.

Surprise. None of any TAT Videos ever showed the real world Its like the 7/11 microwave food. Looks pretty delicious on the cover and mostly you get some mucky stuff which tastes like plastic..

Edited March 3, 2015 by SoFarAndNear

[Johnny S]

TAT is creepy ...

[daoyai]

Easy to poke fun at this vid. but if the intended market is young female (Kor-Chin-Jap-Sing) market, it may work, they like those rom-coms where the guy is a bit inept but still cute and over the top persistent she is cool and in control but hopelessly emo, ...message being, you can travel alone and no one will know you were ravaged by a foreign devil ....

[jspill]

My video was better.

[Veritas48]

I think the message is:not all Thai girls are easy but if you persevere with a nice one who doesn't work in a bar....who knows?

It is very badly acted and comes out all arse about face but I think that is the intended message.

[arrowsdawdle]

in the west its considered stalking in asia it's just normal courting

says it all really

So how do they explain it is for local Asian markets when the cast the lead as a Caucasian American?

[arrowsdawdle]

I think the message is:not all Thai girls are easy but if you persevere with a nice one who doesn't work in a bar....who knows?

It is very badly acted and comes out all arse about face but I think that is the intended message.

Persevere...does that mean get your money out and hand it over right away to save time?

[trainman34014]

Well, I liked it and thought it was moving.

It is...towards the scrap bin !

[yellowboat]

The best criticism is that it was dull, uninspiring, which is how many feel about Thailand under the junta..

[wileycoyote]

Odd

[outsider]

Thai creativity is never connected to any real business value proposition. That's the challenge of real creativity in business marketing. Not to lose sight of business goals and objectives while be as creative as possible. Thais don't understand this - it's not in their DNA to get this right. They just act out on disconnected bursts of nonsensical narrative based on what disjointed thoughts pop in to their head. Then they try to sell it with a business purpose and act shocked when no one else gets it. This Thai ad director on this "Love en Route" campaign should be terminated immediately. Everyone knows that a campaign like this is preposterous. We all know the connotations of "love en route" advertising for Thailand is.

Having to deal with supposedly 'creative' people as a part of my job, I can completely identify with your comments and if I'm honest, it is quite exactly how I feel. It's like building a fancy house... and then stuffing the foundations beneath it as an afterthought.

[Shaunduhpostman]

A member of the Thai tourism board has come to the defense of the film, stating it was not meant for European markets. Meant to be a creative story, the mini-film is intended for the Asian markets where similar concepts are seen on popular television shows.

If it is meant for Asian markets then why is it in English and Subtitled with English and Thai? Who do they think they are fooling?

This is not going to help TAT reach their goals with tourism. They keep wasting money on stupid vdos such as this instead of hard marketing tactics to other countries...

They use English because that is the language most often used between Thais and any nationality, not just western markets.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now the boring, droning, interminable high school essay part:

It's actually quite a clever video if they want to put off western visitors, particularly western women and men who think people's privacy should be respected, while appealing to Asian tourists whose cultural values don't often include a strong sense of a right to privacy. I am a farang, so forgive my ignorance if I got that wrong about generalizing that Asians do not value privacy as much as westerners, but that is how it appears to me looking in from the outside.

It also seems that more and more Thais are making up their minds that they don't particularly like westerners. It's their prerogative, but I don't think they will like anyone else they decide to try and woo either in the end. But perhaps they are right, perhaps we are actually more of a pain and a hassle for them and now that Chinese and Indians and others from other areas of Asia have more income Thailand can now choose, why not? But the point is that it is conceivable the TAT has decided they want to gross westerners out while appealing to Asia and have found a way to do it, good on them, better than the last video about poor Timmy who lost his wallet and was taken in and nursed back to full human status by a kind and forgiving Thai community.

As for the new video, while westerners might view the guy as creepy, I would guess his style would be viewed by many in Asia as polite and indirect if not very persistent showing that he is truly interested in the girl he is stalking. He sort of cushions the blows of his advances by referring to the instagram posts. He is actually half chasing instagram posts and only half chasing a real girl. He focuses on her posts and the technology as opposed to someone who is just baldly and nakedly playing some kind of numbers game and hitting on her and 1000 other chicks, making a complete public nuisance of himself in hopes that million to one odds work out and he and she will fall madly in love forever. By snooping around in her instagram posts he may well have gotten an idea that she is someone with whom he could actually have a decent relationship, egads. Maybe he isn't a creep, maybe he is a guy who wants to find true love afterall!

That aside, it seems to be OK in the west for businesses to "stalk" us for market research data which easily becomes some kind of intel file on us, it seems to be OK for the NSA to stalk you, but god forbid an individual do basically the same thing. Though perhaps it is only that people are helpless to do anything about the situation, I don't know, haven't been back in years. But if thats how people are treated n the west, if people just sit bu and tolerate the developing surveillance culture, you can hardly complain if every year there is more and more cases of individuals stalking and harrassing others.

Though I don't like the video, so what. It isn't meant for me and that's fine, glad to know where I stand. I find it also to be quite interesting, so thanks TAT.

[carter1882]

Quite a few mixed messages - or certainly things open to different interpretations - in this mini movie. Even at the end when the name of the production company for this love story is WAR ROOMS!

It is a pity because the cinematography is really good and though rather sentimental it is probably quite appealing to many young people. Certainly most of the moaners on TVF are of the old, craggy and bitter type who see misery and failure in everything. I think if anyone thinks this is stalking then they are the kind of people who would see bad motives in such things as the giving of gifts, friendship or the love of another human being.

[whooshbang]

ha brilliant, she was playing well hard to get and at 3min 2secs after he says "do you know what?" .... the next words from his mouth should have been "bugger it, i'm off to a beer bar"

[thhMan]

If its "REALLY" meant for the Asian Market... Why is it in English???

Another lie by TAT to cover their incompetence?

[Veritas48]

Who thought the guy in the video was Caucasian?????Eye test................

[malakmd]

Honestly speaking, most of us living in Thailand because of “Love en Route”, movie is soft and relaxing..

[DrTuner]

At least TAT has understood Thailands main attraction are it's women.

[Penefattore]

it would have been fun if - when he asked her about her feelings - she had answered "short time 1,000 , long time 2,000"

[ldiablo]

WhamBam. Have you ever heard of a thing called the internet. A quick search and voila,there's your video. Peace...

[chooka]

TAT's excuses are a bit lame... If it wasn't meant for the western market, why is it in English?

and why use an American farang. If it's meant for the Asian market then use Asian actors.

[connda]

Thai creativity is never connected to any real business value proposition. That's the challenge of real creativity in business marketing. Not to lose sight of business goals and objectives while be as creative as possible. Thais don't understand this - it's not in their DNA to get this right. They just act out on disconnected bursts of nonsensical narrative based on what disjointed thoughts pop in to their head. Then they try to sell it with a business purpose and act shocked when no one else gets it. This Thai ad director on this "Love en Route" campaign should be terminated immediately. Everyone knows that a campaign like this is preposterous. We all know the connotations of "love en route" advertising for Thailand is.

Thai writers/directors'/marketing consultants attempting to understand farang culture in order to create a film aimed at a farang audiance they don't understand in the first place. <head shake>

Now, that's a plane that ain't ever getting off the ground.

[Stargeezr]

I viewed this ad and What I think of it is.

1. It is no Hollywood production, and I did like the scenery in the background,

even though the Fairy tail story plot was the creepy part, and not so much

as a stalker movie plot to me. I had a friend who searched for a Thai lady that he chatted

with on line but was never able to find her, so at least the guy in this ad

maybe found the person who made the Love en route stuff, but as I say, it is

only a fairy tale advertisement, and the truth is actually quite different!

2. Because it was a Thai production, maybe the person who produced this

film and the director, think in a different manner than the western

people who are commenting on it in this forum.

3. It was refreshing to see parts of Thailand that I have not been to yet, and

now I realize that I have not seen all of Thailand yet as well.

Stargeezeer

[Torrens54]

Pretty boring.

The guy reminds me of a Wombat. (Australian Animal that eats, roots and leaves.) Good Vegan Diet I suppose, if you get my drift.

[irishsmile]

Just accept it for what it is, I don't take anything that emerges from Thailand seriously anymore... Pinch of salt... Loved the backing music though!! Very relaxing.

[ToddinChonburi]

CHOOKA Now that would be a great marketing video.

[Thai at Heart]

Thai creativity is never connected to any real business value proposition. That's the challenge of real creativity in business marketing. Not to lose sight of business goals and objectives while be as creative as possible. Thais don't understand this - it's not in their DNA to get this right. They just act out on disconnected bursts of nonsensical narrative based on what disjointed thoughts pop in to their head. Then they try to sell it with a business purpose and act shocked when no one else gets it. This Thai ad director on this "Love en Route" campaign should be terminated immediately. Everyone knows that a campaign like this is preposterous. We all know the connotations of "love en route" advertising for Thailand is.

Succinctly put. They are pass masters at the irrelevant and confusing only to be answers with "falang no understand"

[SpokaneAl]

Thai creativity is never connected to any real business value proposition. That's the challenge of real creativity in business marketing. Not to lose sight of business goals and objectives while be as creative as possible. Thais don't understand this - it's not in their DNA to get this right. They just act out on disconnected bursts of nonsensical narrative based on what disjointed thoughts pop in to their head. Then they try to sell it with a business purpose and act shocked when no one else gets it. This Thai ad director on this "Love en Route" campaign should be terminated immediately. Everyone knows that a campaign like this is preposterous. We all know the connotations of "love en route" advertising for Thailand is.

Succinctly put. They are pass masters at the irrelevant and confusing only to be answers with "falang no understand"

If "we all know the connotations of "love en route"" then perhaps an argument could be made that the ad director nailed it. Edited March 4, 2015 by SpokaneAl

[Gayllips]

My video was better.

Ooh darling it was so much better.

The new film isn't even a gay porno like ours was.

See you later darling.

Lots of love and hugs.

[EyesWideOpen]

Is she supposed to be Thai ??? Or just some kind of generic Asian woman ? At first

I thought she was Japanese....