When 'chewing the scenery' is literal

Click here for a version of the above ad with English subtitles

If you don't think a lengthy video with purposely silly costumes, comically dramatic music and actors who are chewing the scenery both figuratively and literally could shift in a split second from slapstick humour to a death scene where a grief-torn family howls over a foaming-at-the-mouth loved one, while also making you laugh and simultaneously explaining a rather complicated product, then you don't know Thai advertising.

The above ad for bug-spray brand Chaindrite, by MullenLowe Thailand and production house Phenomena Bangkok, may not be this year's Friendshit, but it's entertaining and legitimately—if Ad Nut may use a horrendously overused and abused word—engaging. In that, if you see the first 10 seconds, you'll need to stick around to see where it's going. You'll have a good time, and you'll learn how the product actually works in some detail.

The brand posted the ad on March 29, and it has garnered 4.6 million views on Facebook. A version with English subtitles, posted over the weekend by 9Gag, went viral and is nearing 8 million views. 

The work is part of an ongoing series by the brand. A film about kitchen pests, posted in August last year, has drawn 5.7 million views, while a spot about annoying houseflies, posted last April, has 3.6 million views. Those earlier examples are great, but at 60 seconds, they leave the viewer wanting more. So Ad Nut is glad the latest video gives these bug's lives—and deaths—the feature-length treatment they deserve. 

CREDITS

Product: Chaindrite
Agency: MullenLowe Group Thailand
Director: Tor Thanonchai Sornsriwichai
Producer: Ammy Liewpairoj, Gawx Karunanon
Post Producer: Ponsuda Piyarattanapong
DOP: @Kankla Jaji
AD: Elia Fofi
PM: Nita Arunsiri
Art Director: Aun Nk
Prop Master: Ittipol Talanon
Graphic Design: @Nutpaphat Tunlaphanuwat
Pack Man: Weerachai Potiraj
Mock Up: พี่ไก่, Daruma Original
Mechanic: บัญชา คำทะเนตร และทีมพี่เสือ
Location Manager: New Pannipa
Casting: Supreem Prttrt
Costume: Punntip Jai-ngarm
Make up & Hair: Pinraya Pramual
Editor: Manop Boon
Online: Wolf Zero
Music Composer: Toy Sakie
Final Mix: KobytoCine Ito
Equipment: BIG EYE, Tang Lighting
Studio: MoonstarStudio

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.