Graham Kelly, creative integrator Asia-Pacific for TBWA and Tequila, said people, particularly teenagers, did not want to feel they were being force-fed product information.

Thailand has some ads with the right ingredients. James Harvey, a copywriter with the Glue Society in Australia, said Smooth-E facial product commercials had greatly impressed him. They dare to use cockroaches to differentiate their products from other major brands that tend to rely on traditional techniques, featuring women saying something about their products.

It's risky for the brand's image but since Smooth-E is new, it's worth it to try to stand out, he said.

Kelly and Harvey agreed that TV commercials here still received good recognition for their sense of humour while Thai print ads had developed enormously over the last five years.

Kelly also appreciated spots, usually made for insurance companies, that convey another side to extreme emotional feelings.

However, too many TV commercials have similar approaches, he said.

Since word of Thai humorous ads has spread to many countries, creatives abroad have learned that style and adapted it successfully to their own culture, Kelly said. Now Thai creatives should keep working harder to come up with new styles of creating advertisements to stay ahead.

Many firms would cut their ad budgets while some others might use the economic downturn to step up their ad frequency.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation