• Reportage

Source: Little Black Book

Spa-Hakuhodo Co. Ltd’s creative director on the cliché of creativity, starting every project like an adventure and being proud of being ‘Made in Thailand’

Person

If you imagine a creative person you know, I’m quite sure I am very different. I enjoy simplicity, love to be alone or with a few loved ones. I’m not a social person, but a peace seeker. I don’t lust for new adventures or to live life to the fullest, as so many brand slogans exhort us to.

The only thing that makes me close to the stereotypical ‘creative person’ is what happens when I see good creative work. I get goose bumps and you might hear me say: “How did they come up with that!” “Wow! So simple, but so damned insightful,” or “Why have I never thought of that?!”

I don’t know when I started feeling this way. Maybe when I was an intern at a small boutique agency. But it’s this feeling that’s made me who I am today. But if you ask me, I would still say that I feel far from what we typically mean by “creative person.”

I’m just someone who loves to see great work, work that sometimes makes me envious and want to create great work of my own.

Product

The word ‘creativity’ is quite cliché. To me, creative work is work that solves a client’s problem. It’s an answer to a consumer need. It needs to be easy to digest and have an entertaining edge. It can be drama, comedy or excitement.

Entertaining is in my DNA, maybe because I am Thai. But entertaining alone doesn’t do the job. Good work needs to understand people. There must be a feeling of humanity in it.

I truly believe that understanding humanity is the first step towards good work. The next step is our task: to add spice and flavour.

Process

I start a creative project with a pen and paper and go on an adventure.

It’s all about work and play. To me, each assignment is like your favourite exercise at school. But there’s no right or wrong, no punishment from your mama or your teacher.

All I have to do is to enjoy the ride: there’s no death threat. I leave stress behind, and feel free to explore. Believe me, I can go further than you’ve ever imagined.

I share my idea with my friends. Good friends, especially young ones, make a great team work. The new generation will take you somewhere you’ve never been before and, sometimes, I must admit that they are even better than me. When that happens, I’m not afraid and let them lead the way.

I make sure to have a good work-play-life balance. Just working doesn’t work. I need a break while working. I might plant a tree, buy a toy or whatever. But I do it seriously: this is the everyday healing I need, especially when I’m heartbroken when the work doesn’t go as well as planned.

Press

I’m ‘Made in Thailand.’ It might sound nationalistic but it’s true: Thailand is a place where so many talented creatives were born and raised.

Being Thai gives you a big smile on your face, a spirit of hospitality, and sabai sabai (a relaxed/contented/easy going nature) in the DNA.

When it comes to drama, we have our own ways to make you cry like no one else in the world.

I started my career as an intern in a small agency in the middle of Bangkok. At that time, our briefs were all for TV commercials, print and radio. Today, it’s totally different, like we are living on a different planet. But humanity remains the same: as long as I understand them, I can always reach them.

From a creative point of view, I love a challenging brief. I enjoy working with clients that believe in creativity. Clients that push me forward in every process. I believe that good clients make a good agency and this is the cornerstone of many successful campaigns.

End article

 

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