The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2024
Sammakorn turns name mix-ups with the tax office into a film — two Grands Prix
Thai developer Sammakorn, always mistaken for the Revenue Department, self-mocking film makes Thailand remember it sells houses — 7.6M+ views.
Sammakorn Public Co. Ltd.
What it had to solve
Sammakorn, a 54-year-old Thai housing developer, lacked brand awareness and was constantly mistaken for 'Sanpakorn', the Revenue Department — people even messaged its social accounts about tax filing.
How it works
Bangkok housing developer Sammakorn had a branding problem: its name sounded almost exactly like Sanpakorn, Thailand's Revenue Department. Customers and even staff confused the two, and the company's social media accounts fielded tax-filing questions instead of house enquiries.
Instead of running a corrective ad, Choojai and Friends built a self-mocking film around the pain. A Sammakorn employee deals with one misdirected call after another — people think she works for the tax office — until she finally unloads her frustration. The film gently shows the developer's houses and hammers home the point: Sammakorn sells homes, it does not collect taxes.
Because name confusion is a shared Thai pain point, the campaign invited everyone to share their own mix-up stories, and over 40 influencers and other brands joined in. The film earned over 7.6 million views and 4 million engagements, and brand recall and active seeking rose more than 80% — the strongest growth among Thai real-estate brands that year.
The work won four top Asian awards in 2024: the Film Grand Prix at Spikes Asia, a Film Lotus Grande and an Entertainment Lotus Grande at ADFEST, plus a Silver at the London International Awards.
Why it lands
- Turning a known flaw into the punchline gives the audience a reason to share it; the mistake itself becomes the hook.
- The film gave the brand a human voice — admitting imperfection made Sammakorn more relatable than a polished house ad.
- Social participation extended one film into a national conversation about name mix-ups.
What it did
Over 7.6 million views and 4 million engagements; brand recall and active seeking rose more than 80%, the strongest growth among Thai real-estate brands that year. The film won the Film Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2024 and Grande Lotuses in Film and Entertainment at ADFEST 2024.
What you can take
A shared, relatable weakness can become the story if the brand laughs at itself first — self-mockery invites the audience to join in instead of defend.
Since then
Sammakorn's rebranding push, begun in 2023 to win younger buyers, used the campaign as proof that the developer had turned a pain point into a gain point. The film also helped Choojai and Friends win the Independent Agency of the Year title at Spikes Asia 2024, and it became a reference point for Thai self-deprecating brand humour.
Sources
- หนังโฆษณา "สัมมากร ไม่ใช่ สรรพากร" กวาด 4 รางวัลใหญ่ระดับเอเชีย Spike Asia 2024 และ ADFEST 2024
- Sammakorn NOT Sanpakorn — London International Awards 2024 entry
- ADFEST Lotus Awards: Winners, The Second Wave
- Spikes Asia announces 2024 winners including the Special Awards and Young Spikes Competition winners
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