"Sweet Teen" condom billboard
June 30, 2003

Controversial new line of condoms first mentioned in The Nation last month: Motorists on Rama IV Road are being greeted with the sight of a giant billboard featuring three giant condoms and the words: "teen confidence". For some, CP Consumer's new One Touch "Sweet Teen" line of condoms - scented lime, cola and mixed fruit - may be proof that the Kingdom's safe-sex campaigns have finally come of age, but for others it is just more evidence of the decadence Thailand has succumbed to... According to the spokesperson, Durex, the largest selling condom in Thailand, was expected to launch a similar product next month. ('Licence for teenage thrills?', The Nation, May 24, 2003)

See the index of all the past Glimpse of Thailand images.

The giant rabbit of Sao Ching Cha
June 23, 2003

Here's a giant rabbit in front of a Chinese tea shop on Mahannope Road. The shop is the home of Rabbit brand tea.

Ronald McDonald welcomes you to Thailand
June 16, 2003

Here is a great new billboard near Wiphawahdee and Suthisarn Roads. It is high up on a building so it can be seen from the elevated expressway most passengers take from the airport. Another corporate mascot that wais is here.

Order a pizza and get a gay action figure for free!
June 9, 2003

A movie tie-in that could only happen in Thailand: Pizza Hut gives away two free figures from director Youngyooth Thongkonthun's Satree Lex 2 (Iron Ladies 2), the further adventures of a gay volleyball team. Also includes two trading cards representing the two characters in each pack. (Also: Here's the Japanese poster for the first Satree Lex film.)

UPDATED: Conor Bracken writes: On the cards in the photo on the left, the captions are revealing…
Vit 3 Chinese-looking, pale skinned, he doesn’t show it (that he’s gay)
Pia 10 Beautiful and elegant, high class (hi-so)
So many racial and class stereotypes in so few words! But at the same time the “he doesn’t show it” is a direct reference to “coming out of the closet” in a toy aimed at kids. This product is offensive to family values all right…. in its promotion of class systems, pale skin and Chinese ethnicity!

Mosquito racket
June 2, 2003

This is a battery-operated racket used for killing mosquitos and other flying insects. When they hit the metal on the racket face they explode and burn with a spark. Often there is an awful burning smell. My friends and I used to open the windows of an apartment and see who could kill the most mosquitos that poured in.