Thailand's latest viral ad will make you cry over security cameras

[webfact]

Thailand's latest viral ad will make you cry over security cameras
By Richard Macauley
QUARTZ

BANGKOK: -- Advertising on television often falls into neat, stereotypical categories; beer ads are funny, car ads are slick, men in household products ads are dumb, wives in electronics ads are shrews.

But Thailand is quietly becoming the world leader in a special niche: The tear-jerker. John Lewis, a British department store, has become renowned for its Christmas heart-warmers and tear-jerkers, and nearly every massive multinational from Google to Coca Cola has least produced at least one. Thailand’s ad industry, though, is taking them to the next level.

The genre is so popular in Thailand that companies write special, extended-length versions of tear-jerker commercials that run for several minutes, and go viral on YouTube and Facebook. Security camera company Vizer is the latest to pull at Thailand’s heartstrings—this ad, uploaded by the company on August 27, has already been viewed by 5.4 million people on Facebook and over 3 million on YouTube:

Full story http://qz.com/493202/thailands-latest-viral-tear-jerker-ad-involves-the-murder-of-a-homeless-man/

-- QUARTZ 2015-09-03

[Pattaya28]

Tear-Jerker ? Really !!

[daoyai]

Wow that little vizer camera sure has high resolution and can zoom in on the action. ..... ..... if this was to be more successful in the tear jerker dept. they should have had the shop owner finding the guy in a hospital ward and giving him a gift basket of Brands essence of chicken ..and everyone lives happily ever after.

[NongKhaiKid]

Where's the bells, whistles and drum rolls ?

[Laughing Gravy]

It doesn't make me cry at all. It does however show and reflect the mindset of some Thai people and their religious beliefs on caring for the less fortunate and people who have mental health issues. Before the 'lets defend Thailand at all cost brigade' come out, yes it happens in other countries. But this is called Thai visa forum, about Thailand.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Laughing Gravy

[noitom]

Thais perceive this nonsensical ad to be great marketing. How many security systems did they sell this this ad was their main strategy?

[chrisinth]

I remember when that guy stabbed me...........................

[geriatrickid]

It took several hours to make that pretty boy look like a real vagrant.

Had this been true avant garde marketing vizer would have taken a real vagrant and it would have made a large donation to a reputable charity which helps these people.

And honestly, I was expecting this to be a hospital commercial. When grampa kicks the vagrant, he was going to have a heart attack or injure his foot. Pretty boy vagrant was going to help him and then care for him. After that, everyone would live happily ever after. This version wasn't believable because pretty boy vagrant gets stabbed and just disappears. Well, if he died, grampa would have heard about it. And if he had been badly injured he would have left a nice puddle of blood.

Anyway, I prefer skin whitening commercials. Nothing says Thailand like creamy skinned super thin beautiful people cavorting in a state of undress.

[rkidlad]

This advert, like any other around the world, serves only one purpose - to persuade you to part with your hard earned cash.

Adverts don't work on me. I can see them for what they are. That's not to say I'm not a consumer like everyone else.

[uty6543]

Tear-Jerker ? Really !!

Yes. It was for me and anyone with an ounce of compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.

[Nick167]

Sorry but ads these days along with PR does not work on the new highly educated consumers with the right purchasing powers. I always boycott products that advertise too much or even inconveninet me like those non-stop stupid ads on youtube by companies like Pand G, Unilever, Loreal, Nestle, etc. The worsts are those ads tat use celbs for product endorsements....its a straight giveway that these products are hopeless things hence the companies needs to spend millions on some stupid celeb to try to influence people...well the only people that are influenced are the lowly eductaed factory workers and service workers who do not have the purchasing power in the first place to buy them. Ad agencies, brand managers, marketing and PR Personnel, Market Researchers in thailand are all stupid garbage.

[HerbalEd]

Per usual the reaction from many posters here is cynical and sardonic. They seldom fail to find fault in anything Thai.

[fritzzz25]

I would imagine those go for about 15,000 baht each. Or if sold to the BKK goverment, 750,000 each.

[jaywalker]

Per usual the reaction from many posters here is cynical and sardonic. They seldom fail to find fault in anything Thai.

It ain't tough to do Brother, hence the sarcasm.

Oh well, let's pay some more cops some reward money.

[pmarlowe]

Of course it's marketing. Can't get around that but it may be more than a coincidence that this was produced so soon after massive criticism of the government's purchase of cheap security cams that obscured many of the events of the BKK shrine bombing. If so, its pretty savvy.

[jaywalker]

Tear-Jerker ? Really !!

Yes. It was for me and anyone with an ounce of compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.

I suppose you'd have no problem with me showing up on your door-step, bumming food from you?

I promise not to stay more than 20 years or so.

While you are at it, maybe you could feed my pet elephant......to keep him away from tourist exploitation.

[Thakkar]

Sure, the ad is exploitative and plays on our emotions to sell a product, but if that clip didn't move you just a little, the problem isn't with the ad. One would need to posses an unhealthy amount of cynicism to suppress the natural flow of emotion and empathy the clip is designed to arouse.

It is art, of a sort. And all art is emotionally exploitative, though usually towards a higher purpose.

T

[zaphod reborn]

Sorry but ads these days along with PR does not work on the new highly educated consumers with the right purchasing powers. I always boycott products that advertise too much or even inconveninet me like those non-stop stupid ads on youtube by companies like Pand G, Unilever, Loreal, Nestle, etc. The worsts are those ads tat use celbs for product endorsements....its a straight giveway that these products are hopeless things hence the companies needs to spend millions on some stupid celeb to try to influence people...well the only people that are influenced are the lowly eductaed factory workers and service workers who do not have the purchasing power in the first place to buy them. Ad agencies, brand managers, marketing and PR Personnel, Market Researchers in thailand are all stupid garbage.

I couldn't have said it much better. I've interviewed hundreds of marketers in Thailand, both Thai and ex-pat. They all should be put in a home for psychopaths and pathological liars. You can't believe a word they say.

[Shermanator]

Great ad and I love the story. From a sense making point of view as an ad for CCTV security systems it doesn't because it shows that the camera neither would have prevented a crime nor did the owner make proper use of it. Well, at the end of the day it is a great story and professionally made. Good job!

Edited September 3, 2015 by Shermanator

[luckizuchinni]

I have seen a fair number of ads like this, and I rather like them more than the bells and whistles or the white-skinned rich women touting coffee as a sure way to lose weight. In my opinion, the anti-smoking one is better than the current anti-smoking ads running in the US, for example.

[uty6543]

Tear-Jerker ? Really !!

Yes. It was for me and anyone with an ounce of compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.

I suppose you'd have no problem with me showing up on your door-step, bumming food from you?

I promise not to stay more than 20 years or so.

While you are at it, maybe you could feed my pet elephant......to keep him away from tourist exploitation.

Looking at it from your overly cynical POV that shop keeper got an overnight security guard for the small amount of food that the shopkeepers daughter gave him. What a bargain. The problem you have is all you can see is the tramp and not the man that was once there.

Edit: I just realized the man is still there, he is just harder to see.

Edited September 3, 2015 by uty6543

[jvs]

And here i was watching fully expecting the camera not to work,but i guess this commercial is not like real life.

[weka]

Best part was the last line

"There's much more truth that you are blind to"

Social commentary?

[curtklay]

If he didn't have the stupid camera, he never would have seen what a good guy the bum was. Hence, he would feel no guilt or shed any tears.

So, the moral of the story is, don't buy the camera.

[Ceruhe]

has already been viewed by 5.4 million people on Facebook

Not that is has any kind of weight whatsoever, mr(?) " we now insta autoplay every video on your feed and you will be too lazy to disable that, and 1second viewing counts toward '1 view' racking up the numbers like mofo"

but if that clip didn't move you just a little, the problem isn't with the ad. One would need to posses an unhealthy amount of cynicism to suppress the natural flow of emotion and empathy the clip is designed to arouse.

Not really. At all that is.

See, you can be in any big city right in the middle of having thousands of people walk past you every hour, plant a homeless dude there and guess what....most everybody will ignore him and hope he won't stand up approach/talk/associate with you in anyway whatsoever, preferrably not even look at you. Out of the very few people that will show compassion, god knows what it actually does help them, a buck or 2 doesn't buy you much anymore these days, some food/drink will probably last you a (happy) day and it's back to being socially looked down upon.

The old man accurately showed the guy he wasn't welcomed to loiter around at his shop and should've taken the, eh, hint. Then being gone, having the old man review the video camera and then getting all sentimental and stuff because now he knows that he wasn't simply loitering but "doing his fair share" simply screams hypocrisy. Not was it pointless in the first place, simply because your camera would've only captures "him leaving" and you can't track him beyond the 5 feet your camera does record, it's not making him reflect on his behaviour that "I should've been helping him regardless the circumstances" but making him feel guilty about not knowing he was "doing his fair share" or rather "well me, I had a free worker that was working for food and water and now I want him back doing that"....nevermind the shop being an, eh how to say....very popular place to mess with on a daily basis...and that's another thing that's not a thing.

...not to mention most of us can differentiate between a commercial and real life to get emotional about. Specially since homelessness (or poverty if you will) is a real thing that's happening not too far away from you at any given point you are, and then you don't get too emotional when it's right in your face but to the contrary or socially indoctricated "don't look at him and then nobody can judge me for not helping".

Human nature....once you understand on multiple levels of reasoning, you come to appreciate animals (non human animals that is) alot more.

From a sense making point of view as an ad for CCTV security systems it doesn't because it shows that the camera neither would have prevented a crime nor did the owner make proper use of it.

Uh well. Likewise the police is mostly senseless too by that definition, as they will show up once the crime has already been committed (that is going off the premise that it's not a mall cop etc during the daytime, like in the ad) and didn't prevent the crime from happening. To say he wasn't using it properly is also sorta far fetched...I highly doubt most companies will take a look at the previous nights footage unless something has happened, and the old man had no reason until the homeless dude was gone and he, for whatever reason, checked it. So he eventually did make proper use of it....once he had a "valid reason" to make use of it, otherwise it's just doing what it does....record 24/7 and have it's footage digged up once there is a cause to do so.

In the end, most people may want to help on some level but are relucant to do so for whatever reason, and I'd dare assume as a shopowner you wouldn't want to have a "scary looking avoid at all cost" guy around your shop once people are walking about, meaning, if you provide him with food you "run the risk" of him remaining there and turning him into a dependant...and I guess that's what people are worried about, suddenly having to take care of a(nother) person that you didn't exacly "invite to be part of the family".

The goverment is supposed to be there for the people, homelessness is a rather easy problem to take care of, but money will rather be spent on fences, security, military and god knows how many useless things they waste money on (including corruption, overpaying and what have you)....compassion is all good an fine, but such a person needs serious help and not just a bag of food for the day.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Ceruhe

[Adeeos]

While I do kinda see the point of the ad,,, not ALL people like in this vid, are, "kind, innocent, helpless",, etc,,, There's a vagrant hangs near Asoke/Nana area,,, looks DEAD-on to this guy,,, although less clothing,,, Last Christmas eve,, i was coming out of a resturant in Asoke,, and he was there,, I gave the security guard some $$$, and asked him to translate, to the guy,, I wanted to buy him some food,, and to give the guy the change,, He attempted to explain to the guy,, and the guy went BALLISTIC!,,, pulled his arm back like he was going to punch me,,, and started RANTING in Thai,,, The security guard said,, "He says, "GET AWAY bad man, leave me alone or I'll kill you".. etc,, etc,, The security guard handed back the $$,, and was embarrassed... for another Thai acting this way I guess,,,,, Oh well....

Edited September 3, 2015 by Adeeos

[Jonmarleesco]

'John Lewis, a British department store, has become renowned for its Christmas heart-warmers and tear-jerkers ... Thailand’s ad industry, though, is taking them to the next level.' Seems fair, seeing John Lewis have previously managed to take incompetence and phone service stupidity to the next level.

[fitnesspm]

The best tear jerking one would have to be this one by True.

One of the best ads I've ever seen!

https://youtu.be/JPOVwKPMG8o

[geriatrickid]

Sure, the ad is exploitative and plays on our emotions to sell a product, but if that clip didn't move you just a little, the problem isn't with the ad. One would need to posses an unhealthy amount of cynicism to suppress the natural flow of emotion and empathy the clip is designed to arouse.

It is art, of a sort. And all art is emotionally exploitative, though usually towards a higher purpose.

T

Or maybe, some people have some actual experience dealing one on one with the mentally ill, or the poor, or the homeless and know that this scenario is next to impossible?

I never once came across a homeless, destitute male that looked like this. Maybe it was the overdone makeup, the lack of open sores or telltale signs of an addiction or chronic disease, or perhaps, that this Somchai was too well nourished, but something just screamed out to me that someone was trying to manipulate me. I doubt anyone who works with the homeless or poor was overcome with sadness unless it was a reaction to the blatant hucksterism, or the frustration of seeing a serious problem over simplified and used to sell a consumer product.

[geriatrickid]

The best tear jerking one would have to be this one by True.

One of the best ads I've ever seen!

Only if you live in a delusional fantasy land. The day a Thai entrepreneur/doctor pays a patient's catastrophic medical bill, is the day there is social justice in the country. When I first saw this ad I showed it to my Thai friends, all of whom burst out laughing. (True, we were watching footie over a few beers). This sort of thing is unlikely to happen.

While ordinary Thais are certainly more generous other nationalities, Thailand is a country characterized by its wealthy elites being absent from philanthropy trend setting.