As you see, all Thai characters are all in rich and cheerful colours, while other countries prefer earth tones or pastels. “Each country has its own colour palette and that’s kind of its DNA.
The Monk’s Umparin adds that even if the characters doesn’t have anything particularly Thai about them, there is still something that reflects “being Thai”. “When adapted to the Thai lifestyle, the character will be unique in its own way,” says Panjarat. Quite the opposite in fact: local creators tend to combine the style of American and Japanese mascots and turn it into one of their own. Yet creating unique Thai characters doesn’t necessarily mean showcasing “Thainess”. And the market is growing: 9.5 per cent in 2017 and 8.1 per cent so far in 2018, a year in which total market value is expected to skyrocket to Bt2 billion. Indeed, Thai characters earn fame thanks to the rapid development of online content and today have many platforms on which to appear, including the oh-so-popular Line Stickers, through which hundreds of domestic creations are introduced to the market.
“But if you don’t have an animation series or a shop to gain more recognition, you can create other kinds of digital content and get better known online through Instagram, Facebook and other sites,” she adds. It’s not like that here,” says Bloody Bunny’s Panjarat. “In Japan, using characters to promote anything and even as a city’s mascot is very popular. Many factors are involved in making a character successful in terms of impact, artistic value and recognition. “He’s independent and mischievous and so our creatives turned him into a character,” she explains, adding that Xhabition has moved from Line stickers to selling products online such as T-shirts, pillows, canvas shoes and umbrellas. Its managing director, Nattakitar Satawatthamrong, says Rudolf was created more than a year ago based on the company’s naughty cocker-poodle mutt of the same name. Rudolph the Awesome is the offspring of Xhabition, a company behind the visual effects for movies like “Faak Wai Nai Guy Ther” (“The Swimmers”). The only products we do are Line stickers,” explains Umparin Boonsinsuk, the company’s Licensing & Marketing manager. “Our creatives came up with some characters and started with a story, then developed it for character licensing. The Monk Studio is involved in licensing only and describes its creations as prototype merchandise products.
Eggy’s story begins when six baby chicks emerge from a box of six eggs and start their adventures with first-born Eggy taking charge of his younger siblings.
Launched a year ago, Eggy Egg is the brainchild of The Monk Studio, a leading animation, visual effects and post-production outfit that’s behind TV commercials and movies including the animation “Khun Tongdaeng The Inspirations”. The animation characters selected are Bloody Bunny, Majory, Yak Rocket, The Mask Collection – a spin-off of the popular singing contest of the same name, Nuts So Mond’Sters, Princess Story, Rudolph the Awesome, Missnight, and Eggy Egg. This allows for transferring the popularity of a well-known “personality” to a product/service in order to obtain instant awareness and market positioning. Nine Thai animation characters were chosen for last week’s Style event, a new initiative launched by the Commerce Ministry’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) to support Thai character creators on the international market and add greater commercial value to their work through character licensing. 2Spot has introduced more than 100 characters to the market including the well-known Unsleep Shpe, though Bloody Bunny is so charismatic that he’s become the company’s flagship character. “People are surprised to find out that Bloody Bunny is one of ours,” says Panjarat Areerattanatrakul, marketing manager of 2Spot Communications, which give birth to the knife-wielding rabbit some 14 years ago. Yes, these home-grown creations have a strong presence in the Line Stickers shop, so why do we think they are as foreign as well, Bloody Bunny.Įxcept that Bloody Bunny isn’t foreign at all – he’s Thai. FOR A COUNTRY seemingly obsessed by cartoon-like characters – think T-shirts, mobile phone covers and cushions emblazoned with Kumamon, Rilakkuma, Hello Kitty and superheroes like Batman and Spiderman – it comes as something of a surprise to discover that Thais know very little about locally created characters.