The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2025–2026
Gambol's 'Dare to Step' drops sandals from the sky so apes dare — Spikes Film GP
Gambol's satirical trilogy, set 5 million years ago: a sandal drops from the sky, and the ape who wears it dares to stop violence, burning and graft.
Gambol
What it had to solve
Gambol, a Thai sandal brand selling 15 million pairs a year, wanted more than another footwear ad. Domestic violence, air pollution from burning, and corruption are issues Thais feel angry about yet powerless to change, and nobody dared to speak up.
How it works
Gambol, a Thai sandal brand that sells 15 million pairs a year, set out to make a campaign that was not another footwear ad. The insight was blunt: Thais have been plagued by domestic violence, air pollution from burning, and corruption for so long that they feel angry yet powerless, and silence has become the norm.
YDM Thailand answered with 'Dare to Step', a satirical film trilogy set in Thailand 5 million years ago, where society is made of primitive apes living in a version of the country that looks exactly like today. In each film, a pair of Gambol sandals falls from the sky; the ape who wears them throws his sandal to stop an abuse — a husband grabbing his wife by the hair, a farmer burning his land, a politician hoarding the corn harvest. The aggressor who then tries the sandals softens, sees what he has done, and apologizes.
The tagline 'Klar-Tae' works on two levels: it means 'dare to step' and plays on 'tae', the Thai word for sandal. The trilogy earned over 18 million views and engagement above 1,000% on brand-owned platforms, the highest in Gambol's history, and went on to win the Film Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026.
Why it lands
- Moving the story 5 million years back removes the defensiveness that makes real taboos hard to discuss.
- The falling sandal turns the product into the hero of every scene without a single feature claim.
- Comedy gives permission: the films confront domestic violence and corruption through laughter, not shame.
- The bilingual tagline fuses the call to act with the product itself — 'step' is literally a sandal.
What it did
The trilogy earned over 18 million views with engagement exceeding 1,000% on brand-owned platforms — the highest in Gambol's history — and won the Film Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026.
What you can take
When the subject is painful, move it far away in time and add absurdity: satire lets a brand name a taboo and take a stand without lecturing anyone.
Since then
The three films launched in April 2025 across Thailand, directed by Teerapol 'Ae' Suneta of Suneta House, and were later shortlisted at Cannes Lions and honoured with the Film Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026. Gambol framed the work as proof that a great sandal 'brings confidence and meaning to every step', and the campaign's satirical treatment of domestic violence, pollution and corruption became a reference point for Thai brand creativity.
Sources
- YDM Thailand creates 'Dare to Step' for Gambol addressing Thailand's most taboo issues
- Gambol and YDM Thailand's new campaign 'Dare to Step' boldly breaks taboos
- Dare to Step — Campaign
- This year's Grand Prix winners — Spikes Asia 2026
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