Turning 30 is the biggest milestone for Thai women. 30 is the age when life is expected to be ‘stable’, because it is the ‘tipping point’ for health, body and most importantly, beauty. She has worked hard but has given less time for relationships.

Doubt and fears become exponential if she fails to find the right one in time. Family gatherings are stressful. Relatives constantly pester, “Do you have a boyfriend yet?”, “Look, younger cousin already has children, when will you catch up?” While she tries to ignore the questions, they haunt her. And her ageing skin only makes her wonder that they might be right.

Courage, to a Thai woman, is not about being a rebel going against popular beliefs. While she makes her own choices, she is afraid to disappoint. Being beautiful gives her the confidence and the courage to express herself or pursue what she wants.

Creative Idea: "The Big Day"

Inspired by a true story, the film “Big Day” narrates the story of Mew, a “Puen Jao Saw Sode” (Serial Single Bridesmaid), who has not only been pressured by societal expectations like any single Thai woman, but also has had to endure watching all of her friends walk down the aisle before she could. She overcomes her family's pressures, battles her inner conflicts, and finally, it is her big day! Watch the day unfold!

Instead of brainstorming the creative idea, the strategy was to focus on the root of the problem - understanding who the consumer really is, and to really understand that we wanted to understand the history, the culture, and traditions that drove society's behaviours.

After several weeks researching online forums we chartered a workshop to engage with Thai local experts, psychologists, historians, and beauty bloggers to understand today's Thai woman. We uncovered a very deep and rich insight territory.

INSIGHT TERRITORY: "At every age there’s an expectation of what I should be doing and who I should become. And I am judged if I fall short of these expectations. I wish I didn’t have to spend my life conforming and being pressured by society’s expectations."

We dug deeper working this territory with Thai single women. Upon being asked, what they were most afraid of, we heard a unanimous answer around fear of not getting married, especially if their younger siblings got married before them.

BREAKTHROUGH INSIGHT: "There is no greater fear than watching my younger sister get married, while being left alone to face pressures and expectations from society."

All the scenes, dialogues, co-created with Thai women taken from real incidents.

Traditionally, Asia Pacific markets have been clustered together. A communication that works in one market, is directly adapted to all markets.

Olay realised that to create a truly winning campaign, it had to be hyper local. So, instead of creating a scaled campaign across all Asia Pacific markets, speaking to an "Asian" consumer, we decided to design a unique dedicated campaign for Thailand to speak to the Thai consumer. Because we knew that understanding the Thai consumer would allow us to dive deeper into richer insights and ultimately become a better seed for breakthrough communication.

Every aspect of this communication from insights, to idea, to story, and dialogue was all arrived at from speaking to Thai women and inspired by a true story. The nuances we found as a result played a critical role in driving up authenticity of the communication that eventually led to the creation of this masterpiece.

- The campaign delivered 97% growth on the featured products, and grew overall brand by 20%, generating highest shares in past 1.5 years.

- With over 20 million views (4x Client target) and counting in just over 3 months, "The Big Day" is not only the most watched Skincare ad film in Thailand, but also one of the most watched long format ad film across categories in Thailand of all time.

- The film boasts of a record breaking 52% View Through Rate (% of people who watched the full film) for all P&G Thailand commercials

- Strong Brand Equity Score gains in 3 months

1. Consideration: Increased by 7%

2. Purchase: Increased by 22%

3. Equity: Increased by 13%

- Organic Search Intent driven grew by 16% in just 3 months.