BANGKOK – A radical new advertising campaign has become the talk of the town by being the first in five years to not feature popular actor and celebrity Ananda Everingham as its spokesperson or featured icon.
The campaign, for Scholl Sandals, features a group of attractive young people on the beach. However, in a bold move that media analysts are calling “extreme” and “risky,” Ananda is not one of the attractive young people.
The campaign’s creators, Bangkok-based agency Leo Burnett, explained their shocking decision to go with an Ananda-less ad as part of an innovative strategy of brand differentiation for their client.
“We looked at the existing market, and realized that the one thing that was common to all sandal ads – actually, all ads for anything in Thailand – was the presence of Ananda somewhere in it,” said Jarissa Nanphaleeng, a senior art director on the Scholl account. “That’s when (copywriter) San proposed ‘let’s do one without Ananda.’ It was a breakthrough moment.”
According to Jarissa, selling the client on a non-Ananda ad was “not easy.”
“They said they would have to check with FTC regulations to see if it was even legal to have an ad without Ananda,” she recalls. “But we showed them a few ads from outside Thailand to assure them that it really was possible.”
Public reaction to the groundbreaking campaign has been mixed. While Leo Burnett’s own research indicates that the ad scores high in memorability and positive brand association, some media analysts feel that it’s too soon to attempt an entire campaign without Ananda.
“People may feel confused, even disorientated, by his absence,” said Rita Lim, an editor at Campaign Asia Magazine. “After getting used to Ananda telling them what pants to wear, what car to drive, what beverage to drink, and what grooming products to use, suddenly not having him can create cognitive dissonance.”
Lim believes that easing Thailand into a post-Ananda era should begin with the arts, such as the release of a movie that doesn’t star Ananda. However, this was already attempted last year with indie director Tanwarin Sukkhapisit’s “Insects in the Backyard” – which was subsequently banned by the government for its provocative lack of Ananda.
Although the Scholl ad has already been on air in Thailand, there are already rumors that the Communications Ministry is under pressure to recall it, as controversy mounts and reports come in of Thai consumers who are disturbed by its iconoclastic themes.
“While the ad may be technically legal, the disruptive effect of Ananda-lessness should be considered in the context of Thai culture and social harmony,” said Maneepon Wittinachit, a member of a Facebook group that calls itself Ananda Mandate. “The advertising industry has sold us a world where Ananda Everingham tells us what to buy. They have an obligation to maintain that world.”
