Have already blogged on ISOC's latest ad campaign, Chang Noi's lastest op-ed on the ISOC moderation society campaign is up at The Nation now. Key excerpt:
The Army has long dished out PR on its own importance. After the 2006 coup, it poured men and money into a campaign to influence the hearts and minds of the Thaksinite North and Northeast. This moso campaign represents a new frontier - an attempt to influence society as a whole through public media.
The campaign seems to be aimed primarily at urban youth. The website has the pastel colours, Japanese-style graphics and flashing gizmos that characterise Thai teen web-boards and the like.
The multicolour cartoon ads and the pop endorsements are straining for hipness. The cuteness of the "mo-so" mnemonic and the use of English are probably meant to have trendy appeal.
It's ambitious, but what chance does it have of working?
This is advertising. An ad has to tell people what the product is and why they should want it. To be successful, an ad usually needs to be focused and clear.
Does this campaign have these basic qualities? Is it about sufficiency, or the moderation society, or sustainable thinking? In the minds of the originators, these may be all about the same thing. But for the consumer, this is confusing.
The use of English is like, cool, but it is also a barrier to easy understanding. What exactly is a "moderation society" in English anyway? It's hardly a term in everyday international use.
Is Ad's lifestyle - choppers, cockfighting, concerts that disintegrate into brawls - a guide to moderation?
How many people understand the Thai word used for "immunity", a medical term most people would never use in their lifetime.
Even the word for "rationality" has a slightly academic feel to it. Is this the language of the street? The formula of "Mindfulness + Rationality = Immunity" is also not so easy to compute.
Most of all, does the campaign have a compelling reason for the consumer to buy? To put it simply, what's in it for us? What's in it for the people who have not been acting so moderately lately?
BP: It is just a number of buzz words mixed.
When I returned to Thailand ten days ago, the first thing that captured my attention was how this 'moso' advert dominated the prime time slots of practically every terrestrial TV channel here. Seems like someone just ordered an ideological all-out offensive.