Another Tearjerker – The Popularity of Thai Commercials on Weibo
A new Thai commercial by ‘Brand’s World’ company was recently shared on China’s social media. The touching ad campaign shows that starting a business comes with trial and error. It is yet another addition to Thailand’s rich collection of tear jerking and successful commercials that are shared on Weibo and strike a chord with netizens around the world.
A new Thai commercial by ‘Brand’s World’ company was recently shared on China’s social media. The touching ad campaign shows that starting a business comes with trial and error. It is yet another addition to Thailand’s rich collection of tear jerking and successful commercials that are shared on Weibo and strike a chord with netizens around the world.
The Thai film & TV Weibo account Tianfutaiju recently shared a commercial by the Thai nutritive drink company Brand’s.
The 5-minute-commercial shows how a young business man quits his job to start his own noodle shop, following in the footsteps of his father. The moral of the story is that it takes some failure before success can be reached (see featured video).
“This made me cry,” one netizen says. Another person comments that “Thai commercials are like small movies.”
Thai Recipe for Success: “Sadvertising”
Throughout the years, several Thai tearjerking movie-like commercials have become very popular on the internet. These Thai commercials, internationally acclaimed, mainly focus on narrative and plot – and are indeed similar to short movies.
These popular Thai commercials are often themed around family ties and tell stories about personal challenges. They also convey morals about being selfless, valuing life and relationships, and not giving up.
Due to their touching narratives, strong actors, qualitative film work and emotive music, it is difficult not to tear up while watching – which is why Ad Age has called them “sadvertising”.
2014 Thai ad ‘Sister’ for National Cancer Institute.
One of the instigators of these kinds of Thai commercials is ad film director Thanonchai Sornsriwichai (ธนญชัย ศรศรีวิชัย), who had huge success with his videos for the Thai Life Insurance.
The biggest hit was the 2014 commercial ‘Unsung Hero‘ (Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok), about a young man who does good things for others every day and gets rewarded in an emotional way. The video was watched 28 million times on YouTube alone. Thai Life Insurance and Sornsriwichai also teamed up with Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok in 2011 for ‘Silence of Love‘, a touching commercial in 2011 about a daughter who gets teased about her deaf-mute father.
Scene from ‘Unsong Hero’
Another moving Thai commercial by Sornsriwichai that went viral worldwide is the 2013 short film ‘Giving’ by mobile company TrueMove, which also focuses on a good-hearted noodle shop owner whose one generous act towards a young boy unexpectedly becomes a changes the destiny of him and his daughter 30 years later.
Scene from ‘Giving’ (2013) by TrueMove.
By now, these tear jerking commercials have become so popular that internet users now challenge each other not to cry while watching them.
According to Wall Street Journal, one of the reasons why these Thai commercials are so successful is that they often do not focus on the product they are promoting, but are about setting a general mood. Because they are relatively short films, they are also perfect to share on social media.
Popularity of Thai Ads in China
Thai commercials are popular on Sina Weibo, where some accounts are even fully dedicated to sharing them.
Both Thai and Chinese traditions put much emphasis on the importance of family relations and filial piety, which is as important in the Buddhist tradition as it is in Confucianism (Kapur-Fic 1998, 390). Although Thailand’s ‘sadvertising’ uses themes that are universal, they especially strike a chord for those valuing respect, obedience, and care for one’s parents or elderly family members.
Although the noodle shop ad is about succeeding in business, it is also about honoring tradition and listening to your parents. A 2014 Thai commercial about donating hair for the National Cancer Institute also emphasizes the importance of family and taking care of each other.
“Thai ads are just so well made,” one Weibo netizen says. “Gosh, I am just overwhelmed with emotions,” another person comments about the Cancer Institute Commercial: “I’ve already seen this before, and still it makes me cry.”
6 Must-watch Thai Tear Jerking Commercials
Here is a selection of popular and acclaimed Thai emotional commercials. Please be warned: if you’re going to watch, get your Kleenex ready.
6 Must-watch Thai Tear Jerking Commercials
Here is a selection of popular and acclaimed Thai emotional commercials. Please be warned: if you’re going to watch, get your Kleenex ready.
Brand’s World Thailand (2016): ‘Children Life Line’.
CP Foods (2015): ‘Every Mouthful is Meaningful’.
Thai Life Insurance ad ‘Unsung Hero’ (2014) / dir. Thanonchai Sornsriwichai.
Manya Koetse is the founder and editor-in-chief of whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer, public speaker, and researcher (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends, digital developments, and new media in an ever-changing China, with a focus on Chinese society, pop culture, and gender issues. She shares her love for hotpot on hotpotambassador.com. Contact at manya@whatsonweibo.com, or follow on Twitter.
The introduction of a Douyin novel feature, that would enable content creators to impose a fee for accessing their short video content, has sparked discussions across Chinese social media. Although the feature would benefit creators, many Douyin users are skeptical.
News that Chinese social media app Douyin is rolling out a new feature which allows creators to introduce a paywall for their short video content has triggered online discussions in China this week.
The feature, which made headlines on November 16, is presently in the testing phase. A number of influential content creators are now allowed to ‘paywall’ part of their video content.
Douyin is the hugely popular app by Chinese tech giant Bytedance. TikTok is the international version of the Chinese successful short video app, and although they’re often presented as being the same product, Douyin and Tiktok are actually two separate entities.
In addition to variations in content management and general usage, Douyin differs from TikTok in terms of features. Douyin previously experimented with functionalities such as charging users for accessing mini-dramas on the platform or the ability to tip content creators.
The pay-to-view feature on Douyin would require users to pay a certain fee in Douyin coins (抖币) in order to view paywalled content. One Douyin coin is equivalent to 0.1 yuan ($0,014). The platform itself takes 30% of the income as a service charge.
According to China Securities Times or STCN (证券时报网), Douyin insiders said that any short video content meeting Douyin’s requirements could be set as “pay-per-view.”
Creators, who can set their own paywall prices, should reportedly meet three criteria to qualify for the pay-to-view feature: their account cannot have any violation records for a period of 90 days, they should have at least 100,000 followers, and they have to have completed the real-name authentication process.
On Douyin and Weibo, Chinese netizens express various views on the feature. Many people do not think it would be a good idea to charge money for short videos. One video blogger (@小片片说大片) pointed out the existing challenge of persuading netizens to pay for longer videos, let alone expecting them to pay for shorter ones.
“The moment I’d need to pay money for it, I’ll delete the app,” some commenters write.
This statement appears to capture the prevailing sentiment among most internet users regarding a subscription-based Douyin environment. According to a survey conducted by the media platform Pear Video, more than 93% of respondents expressed they would not be willing to pay for short videos.
An online poll by Pear Video showed that the majority of respondents would not be willing to pay for short videos on Douyin.
“This could be a breaking point for Douyin,” one person predicts: “Other platforms could replace it.” There are more people who think it would be the end of Douyin and that other (free) short video platforms might take its place.
Some commenters, however, had their own reasons for supporting a pay-per-view function on the platform, suggesting it would help them solve their Douyin addiction. One commenter remarked, “Fantastic, this might finally help me break free from watching short videos!” Another individual responded, “Perhaps this could serve as a remedy for my procrastination.”
As discussions about the new feature trended, Douyin’s customer service responded, stating that it would eventually be up to content creators whether or not they want to activate the paid feature for their videos, and that it would be up to users whether or not they would be interested in such content – otherwise they can just swipe away.
Another social media user wrote: “There’s only one kind of video I’m willing to pay for, and it’s not on Douyin.”
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Avideo that has circulated on Chinese social media since October 19 shows how an alleged worker at a Tsingtao Beer factory climbs over a wall at the raw material production site and starts to urinate.
The incident reportedly occurred at the Tsingtao Beer Factory No. 3, a subsidiary of the Tsingtao Brewing Company, located in Qingdao, Shandong.
This is the viral video showing how an alleged worker at the Tsingtao Beer Factory 3 climbs over a wall at the raw material production site and starts to urinate. Many people think it's an undercover operation by a rivaling company: one person peed, another leaked the video? 🍻🤢 pic.twitter.com/eJcYljo2aQ
After the video went viral, the Tsingtao Brewery Company issued a statement that they took the incident very seriously and immediately report it to the authorities, who have started an investigation into the case. Meanwhile, the specific batch in production has been halted and shut off.
The incident has caused concern among consumers, and some commenters on social media wonder if this was the first time something like this has happened. “How do we know this hasn’t happened many times before?”
Others speculate about what might have motivated the man to urinate at the production site. There are those who believe that the man is part of an undercover operation orchestrated by a rivaling company, aimed at discrediting Tsingtao. It’s even suggested that there were two ‘moles’ leaking in this incident: one doing the urinating, and the other doing the video ‘leak.’
Meanwhile, there are voices who are critical of Tsingtao, suggesting that the renowned beer brand has not effectively addressed the ‘pee gate’ scandal. It remains uncertain how this incident will impact the brand, but some netizens are already expressing reservations about ordering a Tsingtao beer as a result.
But there are also those who joke about the “pissing incident,” wondering if Tsingtao Beer might soon launch a special “urine flavored beer.”
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