Picnic
Sylvania2007
Picnic is a 2007 television commercial for Sylvania, created by Jeh United, Bangkok.
The line
Under the light nothing seem scary. Sylvania light bulbs.
Why it works
A Thai family picnics in broad daylight while a procession of folk ghosts drifts past their mat. The father names each one for his small son with matter-of-fact enthusiasm, even chasing off a spirit that ventures too close to the food; one of the apparitions turns out not to be a ghost at all. Then everything goes dark and the brave picnickers start to look nervous. The payoff makes the point: under the light, nothing seems scary. Written by Jureeporn Thaidumrong's independent agency Jeh United, opened only in 2005, and directed by Thanonchai Sornsrivichai of Phenomena, it is studied as a prime example of the off-the-wall Thai television comedy that American critics were celebrating at the time, and as proof that a commodity product can borrow an entire national folklore to make one simple claim. It won a Gold Lion for film at Cannes in 2008, a Silver Clio and a One Show Merit.
Techniques
- Humour Folk ghosts drift past a cheerful family picnic until darkness falls and the bravado vanishes, a comic payoff that makes the claim that light banishes fear.
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