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FWD TH takes break from usual creatives with a ‘musicumentary’ on ‘celebrating life’

MARKETECH APAC - June 4, 2021

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Thailand – As a lifestyle product, you can always trust that a campaign on insurance is sure to touch hearts and ignite sentiment from the audience. Insurance group FWD in Thailand did just that but with a little spin-off of the usual creative films that are served by brands. 

The twist isn’t one bit of a loud and attention-grabbing element, but a ‘slow burn’ or one that takes its time with a narrative – through the form of a ‘musicumentary’. 

The campaign was created with creative agency GREYnJ UNITED Thailand, through its sister agency, Black&White, and instead of presenting a finished creative, the audience is taken to a 10-minute documentary, sort of a ‘behind-the-scene’, where a young composer has been briefed by FWD to develop a song for the campaign that would center on its slogan ‘Celebrate living’. 

FWD Thailand 1

So instead of just surprising the audience with the song itself, FWD shows the ‘meaning of life’ through the journey of the young composer in finding the ‘right lyrics’. 

FWD Thailand 2

In a true depiction of one’s creative process, the composer grabs a notebook and starts drawing inspiration from social media and memories. As the young man deep dives into the different people he sees on social media, he starts to reflect on what the real meaning of life is. He looks into a couple playing with dogs, a woman enjoying a meal, a man indulging in a massage, and another woman energetically exercising in a gym, as well as a group of friends having fun and a father taking care of his child.

In the end, still with no lyrics in hand, the composer takes one last shot on an elderly that has met a car accident, losing her ability to feel on one side of her face. In the film, the retired senior is shown to have lost all hope but is slowly getting back up through the power of music, and playing the guitar.

“Music healed my muscles…it healed me,” she says. 

With this, the film comes to a conclusion with the composer’s realization that after all his search for the ‘meaning of life’, in the end, it’s simply a call to just “live it.”

He looks back at the people he has taken as study and realized that to live a good life is to simply continue enjoying the things that the said people are already doing – to eat, play with dogs, get a massage, dance, and live with the people we love. 

GREYnJ UNITED Thailand shared that the campaign’s aim is to shift the industry’s norm and change the way people feel about insurance, something which is typically built on fear tactics and even distrust.

“The combination between music and good storytelling allows the brand message to take center stage of the audience’s hearts effectively. It’s another way to encourage people to nurture a passion for life and empower people to live life to the fullest without hesitation,” said the agency’s Creative Director of Black&White Arnon Kantawang.

The campaign is an integrated communication and will cover TVC, outdoor media, radio, and online film targeting people in ‘Segment G’, those that are young at heart, creative minded, and aged between 18 and 35. 

Pavarisa Chumvigrant, chief branding, and communications officer at FWD Thailand, said, “GREYnJ UNITED via Black&White showed us its expertise in both strategic planning and creative excellence. They truly understand FWD’s initiatives on empowering people to celebrate Living and our vision in changing the way people feel about insurance.”

Black&White’s Business Director Sureeporn Kulchotehirun also commented that the life insurance market in Thailand is highly competitive, and therefore a strong brand presence and trustworthiness are becoming a key consideration for customers. 

“We’re pleased to partner with FWD and leverage our creative expertise to address the business problems of this challenger brand,” said Kulchotehirun. 

In January of this year, FWD in Singapore has also picked creative agency Grey to manage its integrated and creative campaigns.