Samsung rescues runaway bills in delightfuly odd campaign

Money is a strange obsession for humans. They spend their whole lives chasing it, hoarding it, worrying about losing it—and then willingly let it trickle away paying for things like cold air and moving pictures. Energy, which is gloriously free in the woodlands, costs them dearly in the concrete jungle.

Recognising just how absurd this is, Samsung and BBDO Bangkok have cooked up 'Don’t lose what AI can save'—a wildly inventive online film for Samsung’s SmartThings app. Instead of wagging a finger about energy savings, the campaign takes a sharp turn into surrealism: Reimagining electricity bills as three lost children, each named Bill.

Stranded in a 'lost and found' department, the Bills recount how they vanished—one when mum left the fridge door open, another when the television was left blaring, and a third because of a rogue air conditioner. Each Bill is a clever metaphor for the money slipping away due to careless energy use. It’s an idea so wonderfully weird. 

The campaign taps into Thailand’s growing 'fear of losing money' (FOLM), a cultural insight that needs no explanation in today's economy. Rather than feeding the fear, SmartThings offers an easy win: Download the app, switch on AI Energy Mode, and let it quietly trim your bills behind the scenes. Samsung claims users could save up to 6,922 baht ($208) a year—enough to soothe even the most squirrelly of financial anxieties.

Directed by Jatuphong Rungrueangdechaphat of Early Bird Film, the spot is now running online across Thailand, where households are likely to find the humour uncomfortably close to home.

Energy-saving ads are rarely memorable let alone entertaining. But this is a sharp example of how to break out of a tired category. It unsettles just enough from the start to catch attention, and once the metaphor reveals itself, it rewards the viewer’s patience with a simple, memorable idea.

It’s the kind of lightly surreal work that has come to define Thailand’s creative reputation—and a reminder of why the country remains a consistent force at regional and global awards. No one blends humour and absurdity with quite the same precision, or lands it with quite this much ease.

Now with no bills to chase, Ad Nut is off to review Ad Nut's acorn portfolio.

CREDITS

Chief Creative Officer: Thasorn Boonyanate
Group Creative Director: Warunyoo Sorasetsakoon
Creative Group Head: Phanus Sobsamai
Art Director: Pettada Srisook
Copywriter: Panupong Nakju
Group Account Director: Potjanin De Souza
Account Director: Chayanee Chan-aem
Account Executive: Monrada Umpornsithikul
Head of Brand And Digital Planning Strategic Planning: Prasit Kunanuphanchai
Strategic Planning Manager: Kan Tanarattananon
Senior Project Manager: Autcharawan Laohachataroop
Producer: Toungrak Jiravatanarungsri
Production Company: Early Bird House Co.,Ltd
Film Director: Jatuphong Rungrueangdechaphat
Film Producer: Pavaranan Kanpairoh                             
VTR Company: Newbrain Post   
Sound Production Company: Mixi Sound Studio

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