The rising fee for tv ads has driven companies to cut their commercials short, which has resulted in funny and even insulting videos.
A scene in Anlene Calcium Milk commercial
Several TV commercials have been deemed rude by the audience such as the commercial for Rejoice Shampoo, which featured a girl addressing her mother-in-law without an honorific.
Recently, in a commercial about Anlene Calcium Milk, the main female character said, "Doctors said my mother might have osteoporosis, so I drink Anlene to prevent osteoporosis." After it was aired, the commercial was criticised as being ungrateful and rude because the daughter only thinks of herself and ignores her mother.
Model Thuy Hang, who took the daughter role, had to explain that half of the clip was cut. "In the original commercial there was a scene where mother and daughter drink milk together. I acted with my own mother so there's nothing wrong with the script, it was just cut a lot for broadcast," she said.
Most commercials in Vietnam are just product demonstration, trying to promote themselves as the best and biggest, however, these types of ads are failing to catch the audience's attention.
Dr. Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, Vice President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities said, "Each company has its own criteria about creativity and profit. Well-known brands will prioritise creativity while new companies will want to prove the long-standing quality of their products. However, because the commercial producers are unskilled, they've been unable to predict the severity of the backlash. On the other hand, maybe they know but still make rude adverts to get attention."
Kangaroo Walter Filter became the most-talked commercial
Two years ago, the public was both fascinated and annoyed by the commercial about the Kangaroo Water Filter which just repeated its one sentence "Kangaroo, the top-rated water filter in Vietnam" for the whole 30 seconds. Though the advert received negative feedback, the brand was definitely remembered.
Another reason is that commercial costs have skyrocketed, pushing the producers to shorten the clips as much as they can. In June, to have 30 seconds on air during the game show The Voice Kid 2013, a company had to pay out VND130 million. The price increased to VND260 million in August.
The price is too high considering many businesses are suffering from the economic downturn so companies opted to cut the adverts down to 10 or 15 seconds. Lan Anh, employee of an advertising agency, said they are often asked to edit the original video ad into several clips of different lengths.
Dr Lan said commercials have a certain impact on audiences because of the high frequency with which they appear. Broadcasting companies should have tighter control over commercials.