SILKROAD Publishers Agency

After graduating in Architecture, Suthisak Sucharittanonta worked as a Freelance Photographer on magazines. In 1985, he joined Dentsu Thailand as a Visualiser. In 1987 he worked as an Art Director at Lintas Bangkok and joined Ogilvy&Mather Thailand in 1988. At Ogilvy, he worked as an Art Director and a Copywriter until he was promoted to Creative Director in 1992.

In 1994, he was asked to set up an off-shoot agency, Results Advertising, where he won many prestigious awards from Cannes Lions, Clio, One Show, and Asian Awards Best of Show for Black Cat Whisky. He is the most awarded creative in Asia, and ranked No.1 in the Hottest Asian Creative Ranking by Campaign Brief Magazine in 1999 and 2003.

He joined BBDO Bangkok as Chief Creative Officer in 1999, where he won many prestigious awards including Gold Lions, Gold Clio and One Show. and BBDO Bangkok was ranked No.8 in the world by the Gunn Report 2004. He was appointed as a member of BBDO Worldwide Creative Committee in 2004.

Riding an Elephant?: Humour in Thai Advertising is his first work drawn from his experience as No. 1 creative in Thailand.

Riding An Elephant? : Humour in Thai Advertising non-fiction/ humour/ advertising/ biography

Rights: world
English translation by Kent Chuenrudeemol available

Riding an Elephant?: Humour in Thai Advertising is Suthisak’s first work drawn from his experience as one of Thailand’s forefront creative for more than ten years. Suthisak has won both regional and global honours for his creative work. He has an unsurpassed ability to present a product through a unique blend of comedy and inspiration drawn from real social occurrences that exist in the Thai society.

Suthisak wittingly shares with readers where he draws inspirations for many of his winning advertising ideas. For instance, an idea for a car battery commercial was sparked by his observation of one very stormy night. Playing up on a local belief in the existence of angels in the sky, Suthisak told a story of an angel’s inability to create thunder because of a dead battery. This advertisement won the Silver Awards at Adfest. Another local inspiration came in the form of a Thai ghost – Krasue (flying woman’s head attached only to a coil of intestines) used in a commercial of a Thai whiskey, Black Cat.

Riding an Elephant? paints a colourful portrait of the Thai advertising industry, analyzing its successes and failures through a reflection of values, beliefs and ideology of Thai consumers of our generation. An industry that beats to the same heart beat of the world, but yet uniquely Thai.

Through his love in the humour of Peter Mayle in ‘A Year in Provence’, it is no wonder that Riding an Elephant? is such an enjoyment to read. The book takes you on a beautiful journey of the Thai culture and snapshots on the life of one Thai professional creative unlike others.

Click here to read an excerpt from Riding an Elephant?: Humour in Thai Advertising.