Red Bull Thailand's parent company receives thanks for cancelling big ad campaign

Earlier this year, the World Federation of Advertisers said in a study that about 52% of large multinationals will be cutting and holding back ad sped for six months or more. Meanwhile, companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were among the firms that halted their ad spend during COVID-19. Another company to have joined the ranks was TCP Group, owner of Red Bull in Thailand. In response, Wunderman Thompson Thailand's ECD Thasorn Boonyanate released a short online film on his personal Facebook account, cordially thanking TCP Group for cancelling one of the company's biggest campaigns of the year due to the pandemic.

https://www.facebook.com/thasorn/videos/10157872135624821

Although an unexpected action, the reason behind his gratefulness is revealed as the video unfolds. To support the relief efforts for COVID-19, TCP Group had decided to reshuffle their budgets instead, donating the first COVID-19 testing machine in Thailand and over 100,000 face masks to the medical staff.

Since its original posting, the film quickly went viral, with over 2K shares and 80K organic views within one week, as mentioned on the press statement. Boonyanate’s personal project found further commercial success when he was approached by four prospective clients through his Facebook messenger inbox.

While this project’s oversized success benefited the Wunderman Thompson creative in ways he could not have anticipated, his client brand TCP Group also gained well-deserved recognition and goodwill from the public.  

Natha Boonprasit, director, corporate affairs and communications department, TCP Group said, “The decision to cancel the project was not an easy one but at the end, we were guided by TCP Group’s resounding purpose to contribute to society. In the time of a humanitarian crisis like this, we should focus our efforts where they matter most". "This was another testament to the power of enduring loyalty between business partners – in sickness and in health," Boonprasit further added.

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