Love in the Time of Technology

We have spoken quite frequently about how ads are explicitly self-serving and narcissistic. The copy for most ads tend to be company or product centric and rarely place the limelight on the customer. But since the reason we advertise is to promote ourselves, where do we factor benevolence in advertising? A recent ad from Thai mobile provider, DTAC, does this effectively. The ad shows a young dad trying to deal with his bawling baby as his wife goes out grocery shopping. With his wife’s help, he tries to calm the baby down with cartoons of penguins and by showing her mother on video chat. He finally realizes the futility of his attempts and lifts his young daughter and holds her close. The ad ends with the message of how technology can never replace love. The best thing about DTAC is that, it understands its limitations and that of technology. It knows that no matter how hard it tries, it cannot take the place of certain things like emotions and true human connection. Since its release on June 30, 2014, its primary Thai version (with English subtitles) has crossed 7.5 million views on Youtube, with over 70,000 views in Spanish, 30,000 in Norwegian and 20,000 in Chinese; while the Chinese version on Youku has exceeded 1 million views. The ad has also gained momentum on social media sites and is widely shared. DTAC dared to downplay its reach and increased its outreach to human hearts.