"Humor is the best way to connect with the majority of consumers, humor is like the salad that comes before the main dish or the key message." Thanonchai told participants attending his talk at TCDC.
If a Thai TV commercial makes you smile, the chances are that it was dreamed up and directed by Thanonchai Sornsriwichai, Thailand’s most-awarded director.
Thanonchai has a talent for juxtaposing humor with substance, realism and sarcasm, coming up with advertising campaigns that are not merely fun to watch but actually make the viewer think. He refers to his style as "substance-laden humor".
Thanonchai is at ease in front of a crowd at Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC). He's a confident speaker with a large ego and also understands consumer psychology.
"Humor is the best way to connect with the majority of consumers, humor is like the salad that comes before the main dish or the key message." Thanonchai told participants attending his talk at TCDC.
Thanonchai, 39, started work as a graphic designer with a well known design firm, as a 23-year-old architecture graduate of King Mongkut Institute of Technology. After a few years, a friend persuaded him to apply for a job as a TV commercial director at Promophobia, a sister company of Phenomena. In that time, Thanonchai was full of great ideas, but he lacked the necessary cinematographic, marketing and advertising skills to be credible as a director.
"I was under pressure from all sides, from the cameramen to the lighting crew who complained about my competency. Customers found me too much of an artist and didn't want to talk to me. After discussions, they simply said they wouldn't want my film. Or they would grimace and say 'go and shoot it'.
To overcome challenges from customers and colleagues, he says he needs a bigger ego than theirs. And that means winning as many awards as possible both at home and abroad. Then in 2003, 2005 and 2006, the Gunn Report recognized him as the world’s most awarded director of the year.
"Of course, awards ensure customers look at me and listen. But you also need a lot of experience. A good director must understand marketing problems in order to sell their products well. I no longer have credibility problems but customers are not stupid. They will only believe me if there's reason to believe."
Indeed awards and experience have helped make meetings with high-powered customers a lot easier. Today, the question most often raised by Thanonchai's customers at meetings is, 'will my product be the talk of the town?' His response is: "I don't know. But it's likely to be."
"If we understand the consumer, then it's easy for a commercial to become the talk of the town. I can assure you that the consumer wants humor; it's the best thing to connect with them. I don't give them humor alone. I also give them substance.
And there are certain "products" that Thanonchai simply refuses to touch, among them political parties and golf courses. "I hate politicians. I'd rather make a commercial about the lizard than a politician. I've been contacted, of course, but the answer is always no," he says. "As for golf courses, they destroy the ecological system!"
After such a stellar career in the advertising world, Thanonchai says he is slowly learning to be a different person. "I think my ego is getting smaller," he says. "I'm still working on it."
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