So, what caused the culture shock? Was it the playing of the national anthem and standing to honour the King, before the show began? No, definitely not: a) we’d been told to expect that b) I was brought up with manners, so I stand for any legitimate national anthem and c) it was the first time I’d heard the Thai Anthem and it’s quite beautiful, as was the voice of the woman singing. What caused the culture shock was one of the ads before the show.

The ad came amidst the usual 30 sec soft drink and car spots and – how to put it -it didn’t exactly match the essentially shallow, “action flick” mood. Obviously, when we saw it there were no English subtitles, only Thai ones for the father’s signing (that the father is deaf is no spoiler) and when the sign for the company came up I wasn’t really watching (sniffling and trying not to sob out loud, as I was) but I hoped it was for some Deafness charity, though the logo looked more like some kind of insurance company – I assumed health.

The ad follows and is 3mins long but please do watch it – grab some tissues first, though, and be warned it’s not a tear jerker because there are ducklings and toddlers or Italian Grandmothers getting long distance phone calls.

I don’t remember any of the ads between this one and the rest, because I spent the time wondering, how far should an ad go? Does purely tugging the heart-strings work, even if it doesn’t seem to be directly relevant, or is there a point where the audience feels too manipulated (I wouldn’t buy from them – it’s just too much)? Where is “the line” in different markets – would this ad work in Australia, if it works at all? The thing is, it wasn’t till Superman found the version with the subtitles and we found out what the ad was actually advertising that I actually understood how far the ad goes – at least I think I do, because it’s pretty hard to believe – but how else does life insurance come into it? Did the hospital allow the father to die giving her his blood and so now the daughter needs his life insurance? If so, is that too far? I wonder if the companies sales went up? I wonder if it would work – or even pass the taste, or regulatory tests elsewhere.

Personally, I think it would make a great ad against bullying.

For those of you in the midst of NaNoWriMo and for the rest of us in the midst of writing anything, here is J.J. Abrams talking about the blank page as the ultimate “mystery box” and how technology inspires him.

What mystery boxes are you creating for your audience?

Enjoy!

And, yes, I’m aware that these TED Tuesdays are being posted on Wednesday lately but, hey, it’s still Tuesday in the States and, frankly, all my days run together till Superman is still home when I wake up and I realize it’s Saturday.  Public Holidays (of which there are a ridiculous number in Japan) TOTALLY screw with my mind!

BEST. DOCTOR. EVER.

(And I grew up with Tom Baker )

Billy Piper as his companion Rose is definitely my favourite companion as well (though I never really liked any of them – probably just jealous.) Clearly it’s some of the best writing and direction it’s ever had, too it just works so well… just the right amount of hokey special effects, doesn’t take itself too seriously and yet the stories are great! If you haven’t seen it for a while give yourself a treat and say hello again – though I recommend you start with his first episodes with Rose, they introduce his particular character beautifully and frankly just shouldn’t be missed!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdFQFUm4fL0[/youtube]

I have to say I also highly recommend hunting down South Park’s Spoof on “Great Expectations”which was entitled simply “Pip” after their wonderfully innocent British character who is himself a Dickensian inspiration. Even if you are not usually a fan of South Park you should really check it out – it is truly genius – I literally got a stitch from laughing so hard!