As we’ve seen time and time again, the most successful advertisements tell a story and entertain us as – disguising that they’re selling a product or service. Thai Life Insurance must have known this when they created their newest commercial because ads don’t get any more story-like than this one.
The video consists of a Thai man going about his everyday life. He sees an old woman struggling with her cart, a stray dog begging for food, and a homeless mother and child. What sets him apart from the rest of the crowd is his kind reaction to these occurrences. He helps the woman with her cart, gives the dog part of his lunch, and generously offers the mother-daughter combo the contents of his wallet. Strangers looking on shake their heads, but the man continues to do the acts of kindness anyway.
At the end of video, it is revealed that his do-good attitude has lasting effects. The woman with the cart becomes his friend, the dog follows him home, and he gives enough money to the mother that the daughter could go to school. The voice-over (or English subtitles for those of us who don’t speak Thai) tells us that although this man won’t get fame or fortune, he will get emotions. The end of the video challenges the viewer to think about what they value in life.
This ad is interesting because it uses happiness, not fear, to convince viewers of Thai Life Insurance’s trustworthiness. After all, which company do you want to give thousands of dollars to? The one that scares you into needing them or the one that believes good deeds make the world go round? The second one sounds more appealing to me.
From a theoretical perspective, this ad is heavy on ethos or emotional appeal. Most insurance ads are, but this one breaks the mold because it is positive. The feelings the viewer experience is happiness, inspiration, and love. If we believe the emotions generated from ads transfer to how we feel about the brand, this one tops the charts. Too bad we don’t live in Thailand, or they would have at least one more customer.
– Christine Schulze
IMC Hawks Blog 
This is a very powerful advertisement! It makes you stop and think about how the things you do will have an impact on others. It reminds me of the Coke and Budweiser Ads, especially during the Super Bowl. It’s the first Insurance commercial to leave me with a warm feeling.
Susan Willetts
I have never seen this advertisement until now but I find their use of emotional appeal very interesting. I like the fact that they pull more on the happiness of their customers instead of invoking fear into them so they would use their insurance. In my opinion, that’s how you would get more customers by showing them good deeds and how an act of kindness goes a long way and circles around the world.
This advertisement not only wants you to be apart of their insurance but it also to be reminded of the good in the world. This has a longer lasting effect than scaring customers that they need insurance before they die. I completely agree with you for the fact that I feel happy and warm after viewing this commercial because of the use of strong emotional appeals in this. This commercial has made me trust this company and I would definitely look more into using this company if I had lived in Thailand.
More companies should take note of how this Life Insurance company approached advertisement. Many companies today (looking at the American Insurance Industry) try to make humorous commercials thinking it will make the public remember them better. But what people really want to see is a company that knows what is really important and I think Thai Life Insurance did a very good job of portraying the positive qualities people want to see in a simple three minute commercial.
Watching this advertisement nearly brought a tear to my eye. There is no doubt that this Thai Life Insurance successfully used pathos in order to emotionally connect me to their brand. They conveyed an appropriate brand narrative, which will likely cause viewers of this advertisement to develop a positive attitude toward this particular brand of life insurance. However, the goal of IMC is not simply to change attitudes. Instead, the ultimate goal is to change behaviors and make consumers purchase a particular brand. If I were a resident of Thailand, I cannot say for sure if I would purchase this particular brand of life insurance. Although this advertisement changed my attitude, I am not fully convinced that I should change my behavior and actually purchase this brand due to the lack of information regarding the brand. I feel that this commercial could benefit from inserting a small bit at the end that allows potential consumers to understand how this life insurance will benefit them. Using the preexisting pathos is combination with logos, or logic, would increase the strength of this advertisement and potentially cause me to change my behavior, not just my attitude, toward the brand.
Just by watching this I was overcome by emotions, and encouragement. Even though I am sure that is what their goal was while making this commercial, they did an excellent job of getting of a truly inspiring message, that just happens to benefit their insurance company. A commercial like this shows the hearts of the people in the company must be for the better, and can encourage people to trust their brand and become attracted or interested in it as well.
~Brooke Boatwright
I really appreciate the way this advertisement appeals to ethos. In a society where emotions and value are so skewed to fit cultural beliefs of what is important, it was nice to see this advertisement take place in a different part of the world. I think that if companies want to connect to a larger audience when promoting their products, then the ethos appeal is a way to go. We’ve learned commodity culture, and by representing ourselves by the commodities we consumer, wouldn’t we want to consume the products with the most positive messages? The good deeds in the commercial portray acts of paying it forward, which is essentially backed up by the Thailand insurance company.
This is the first time I have seen the advertisement of the “Unsung Hero” TVC Thai Life Insurance. They were very heavy on ethos and emotions unlike American Insurance Company ads who focus on using fear to get individuals to buy their insurance. This ad represents a positive representation of the insurance company in Thailand. The feelings that many viewers will feel while watching this ad will make them feel happiness, be inspired and love life. The ad wants individuals to become apart of their insurance company and they provide proof in their ad that there are still good people in the world. This is a positive and happy reminder that we all need insurance and shows the importance of having insurance instead of using a negative affect and scaring the viewers to get insurance before they die. This ad brought happiness and warm feelings while watching. I would want to be a member of this insurance company if I lived in Thailand because of the positivity that is brings to its customers.
I really enjoyed watching this advertisement because it was such a positive change from the kinds of insurance advertisements I am used to. I loved the story line of it and the appeal to ethos that was involved. It was a good strategic move for the creators because since it is different, it is memorable. I feel like the emotions that one feels while watching the ad makes it stand out and makes the company more desirable. The use of happiness instead of fear was both original and refreshing. I couldn’t help but smile the whole time while watching it, so that makes me associate the company with positive feelings. If I was a potential customer, this kind of advertising would get my attention a lot more and that means they would most likely get my business.
Not going to lie, I may or may not have had to look away for a second and grit my teeth a bit with this one. Even though I know the whole time that it’s going to be about life insurance, it appeals to the viewers sense of morality, and asks us the question “What do YOU value?” To be honest, this video is so persuasive in my opinion that the answer to this question might change before and after watching. A very well designed commercial, that is so simple and self-explanatory, that appeals to the deep down sense of humanity in all of us.