NO HEART FEELINGS
Time flies and things change, but Tecnogas oven is designed to last.
Overview
Tecnogas's new campaign revolves around an embittered couple trying to rekindle their romance. The generous six-minute duration alternates between their bickering and happy flashbacks. The conflict is only resolved when a Tecnogas stove is used to prepare a Thai-style omelette. The spot aims to re-establish the brand in consumers' minds while also highlight its long-lasting quality. (Grey, 2019)
Thought on the campaign
The creative team clearly knows how to make Thai consumers take notice of a brand name by going beyond the functional attributes and making it superbly about bonding, memories and relationship. With the country’s rich, tradition-laden culture and history, Thais is universally known for valuing long-form commercials packed with developed narratives and deep messages. Moreover, the script fuses food and love, the two elements which easily tug at their heartstrings and stir the sympathy. The campaign is expected to attract a high number of audience with its release on both Facebook and Youtube which are the most active social media platforms in Thailand (SlideShare, 2019).
Apart from the aforementioned reasons, the ad also stands out for the gorgeous golden-hour scenery. Personally, I am hooked on the idea of portraying the couple’s reconciliation in a faraway country rather than in the everyday Thailand backdrop. The explanation for choosing “a small town in Italy” is probably just because the team wants the audience to get the brand's origin. Still, dreamlike Italy is a perfect setting for me. Classically high-walled streets, restaurants overlooking 14th-century cathedrals, Vespa spanning the sleepy countryside and little house within the lavish garden, all of these worth the characters' pilgrimage and elevate our emotion. Furthermore, such distant place works as a tangent universe where the ordinary life is muted and factors from the daily situation which can get into the couple's reconnection are taken away.
The plot, however, is met with scepticism. Some argue that it is illogical to depict a strong relationship by showing a couple constantly sniping at each other. I understand these scenes can be difficult to watch but it is real. I think the challenge in this stage of a relationship is to figure out how to deal with conflicting interests and little grievances that come into our path. Yet, I believe there is a beauty to be found in conflicts as they might foster deeper intimacy. Anger when handling well is revelational progress. The characters express the fury as something get to them so much at the heart of who they are. Something they love or cherish had been injured and they need to tell each other so that they know their counterpart more profoundly. In the end, this is what allows the couple to save the relationship and perhaps, makes it even stronger. Hence, it is safe to say that the plot makes great sense to me.
Drawback
Nevertheless, this is still a commercial whose message needs to be clear and sadly, the video has a rather ambiguous ending despite the good narrative. When being asked “Why are we still together?”, the character answered: “ I don't know”. The confusing last line then instantly lead to the tagline which says “Designed to last”. But for what reasons should the oven last in a kitchen if one person is so uncertain about it? It might leave the audience disoriented about the ending.
Suggestion for improvement
As I mentioned, the last line of the script should be a statement or at least, a thought on how strong their connection is in order to maintain a long-lasting affair. It will make a nicer mental association for the brand’s name.
Secondly, if the campaign is situated in the local context, it should promote different attributes other than the product's design. Price, wide-range distribution network and high quality are key features that Vietnamese people search for when considering kitchen appliances (Vietnamnews, 2018).
Due to our collective mindsets, commercials which convey morals about valuing the social ties can easily reach out to the Vietnamese. In recent years, product-focused spots are no longer enough to draw people's attention, they need something that is more human-centric and does not make them feel like watching an ad. Therefore, the campaign’s format as an emotive film advertising stands a probability to be remembered and shared in Vietnam. To further enhance the relatability, the team should come up with a follow-up series of 15-second videos highlighting products' attribute. For example, given busy lifestyles in urban areas, a space-saving, multi-functional oven which serves healthy meals in a fast way can be a brilliant driven factor to hook the consumers.
Conclusion
All in all, with touching narrative, the ad not only re-establish the brand's name in consumers' mind but also the nature of conflicts in our relationship.
Reference list
Grey 2019, ‘No heart feelings', Grey, viewed 03 May 2019, <http://greycom-stg.dev.aws.grey.com/amea/work/key/no-heart-feelings/id/16032/>.
No Heart Feelings รัก-หมด-ใจ, streaming video, Tecnogasthai, Youtube, viewed 05 May 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy4j-jXtbS0&t=4s>.
Slideshare 2019, ‘Digital 2019 Thailand (January 2019) v01’, Slideshare, 03 February, viewed 05 May 2019, <https://www.slideshare.net/DataReportal/digital-2019-thailand-january-2019-v01>.
Song, E 2015, Oven-man, gif, Pinterest, viewed 05 May 2019, <https://dribbble.com/shots/2263934-Oven-man>.
Vietnamnews 2018, ‘Household appliance industry worth $13b', Vietnamnews, October, viewed 05 May 2019, <https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/420683/household-appliance-industry-worth-13b.html#Myz342EdvvotIKl7.97>.