(1) A woman steps inside her simple wooden home and lifts the chicken to check the eggs. Then she goes over to lift her newborn baby. The baby’s lips move! He says no! A disembodied hand appears holding a bar of soap. The woman smiles. In the future, she’ll remember to wash first.
A public safety ad sponsored by UNICEF. This is still a very poor country. Diarrhea is the leading cause of death in children.
(2) A boy lies in the back of a pick-up truck, cradled in his mother’s arms. (Even in Bangkok, the most advanced city in the region, there are few emergency medical services. Most people get to hospital in pick-up trucks, tuk-tuks, or on the back of a motorcycle.) He’s clearly very sick, but he’s holding a mobile phone. Cut to the anxious face of his father, driving through the night, and speaking reassuring words. Cut back to the son - close-up on his arm. Snakebite! The boy is fading fast. His father calls out. The boy says nothing. The father cries out again. The boy opens his eyes and replies. Cut to announcer.
It’s an ad for Cambodia’s biggest wireless operator, Mobitel, emphasizing the reliability and coverage of their network, and implying that if you don’t have a Mobitel phone, you may not be able to keep your children alive. Can you hear me now?
(3) A fair-haired European man in a linen suit drives a red convertible down a twisting mountain road. The camera cuts back and forth between him and his beautiful girlfriend, smiling in her power-red lipstick and suit, complete with shoulder pads. The wind is in their hair, they’re laughing maniacally, they’re in love, they must be - yes they are - they’re smoking Mercor cigarettes!
Big tobacco is alive and well and peddling death sticks to the Khmers. 60% of them smoke. Cambodia is the only country in South-East Asia that doesn’t regulate tobacco advertising. That’s a matter for the Cambodian government and people, but I find it offensive that the marketing message is ‘rich white people smoke.’ Perhaps we can sue them for libel. Or just run ads filled with Western celebrities saying ‘I don’t smoke.’