Film > Culture & Context

UN-LETGOABLE CEREMONY

WOLF BKK, Bangkok / CENTRAL DEPARTMENT STORE / 2023

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Film

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Overview

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"Greed Stops When Shop(ping) Starts" is the key to purify yourself from greeds, needs and sins. Here's the alternative way to get closer the stage of awakening via the entertaining video titled "Un-Letgoable Ceremony"

The story of two girls in white on a spiritual retreat in serene woods far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, aim to let go of greed. Alas, they fail to resist Thailand's biggest sale "Central Very Very Midnight Sale". The moral of the story is; the easiest way to end the greed is shopping.

Our film creates a calm and peaceful mood instead of using the traditional tactics of urgency and discounts. Showing Thai people an alternative way to satisfy their desires (following the Buddhism way) make this work refreshing and relatable to the target audience and set us totally apart from the competition.

Background:

Central Department Store, Thailand's top retailer, hosts the highly-anticipated annual 'Midnight Sale' known for its legendary deals and spicy-and-sour concept each year.

To glorify our 75th anniversary of Central Store, we're on a mission to launch a campaign that captures the hearts and wallets of the Thai people, while providing a meaningful and entertaining connection with our consumers more than ever.

Describe the Impact:

Our sales promotion campaign took an unexpectedly entertaining approach that captured the attention of social media users, resulting in over million views within a week. Buddhist practitioners couldn't resist the fun and creative campaign, making it their favorite and being widely share in their local community. And the numbers speak for themselves - we saw a remarkable increase of +134% in sales during the 7-day campaign period.

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

In Thailand, over 95% of the population practices Buddhism, the country's official religion, which aims to eliminate the desire for material possessions and achieve "Nirvana." This is why religion may remains no.1 enemy for retail business.

Instead of fighting against the traditional values of Buddhism, we decided to embrace them and integrate them into our strategy. By introducing a unique solution that even Buddha himself may not have considered: "If you want to put an end to your greed, don't abandon it, but rather satisfy it through shopping." (sounds legit!)

Is there any cultural context that would help the jury understand how this work was perceived by people in the country where it ran?

36 years ago before the birth of online shopping, “Midnight Sale” was when Central expand the opening time of the store to midnight and let customer enjoy the ultimate lowest price in the store.

Even though today's shopping has nothing to do with the midnight time, Thai shopaholics still recognize "Midnight Sale" as the main shopping event in Thailand and keep calling it "Midnight Sale".

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