Wunderman Thompson Is Saving Thai Farmers’ Lives with Nothing but a Loincloth

Thailand is one of the world’s top natural rubber exporters. However, this abundant, fertile, and thriving industry is not without risk for the farmers who work in it. According to the Department of Disease Control's report, more than 6,000 rubber farmers die from venomous snake bites each year. 

Much of this stems from a lack of consistent knowledge about how to deal with a snake bite - with apocryphal solutions like sucking the venom out still enduring in the popular imagination. Sadly, two out of three snake bite victims fail to get proper treatment on time that leads to their unfortunate deaths. 

Tra Mongkut Fertilizer, Thailand’s leading agricultural fertilizer brand, believes that every farmer’s life should be healthy, safe and protected. 

To this end, they have partnered with Wunderman Thompson Thailand to transform an ordinary everyday object into a potential lifesaver for farmers: The humble Loincloth. 

The Lifecover Loincloth turns the traditional cloth into a multi-functional utility.  Its design boasts simple infographics delineating the different snake species found in fields of Thailand; detailing also how to spot their bite types, common symptoms, and, finally, the RIGHT first aid (and it’s not sucking out blood with your mouth!) Using this loincloth everyday becomes a daily reminder to do the right thing at the right life-saving moment.

Jakkrit Charupong, product group manager, Tra Mongkut said: “Loincloth is one of the local handicrafts that has various benefits to the daily life of Thai farmers. Our initiative, Lifecover Loincloth, under our corporate mission "better living", not only helps give financial support to the local community but also add more benefits to the loincloth for a better living of our Thai farmers.”

Jakkrit Charupong  continued “Under the campaign, Lifecover Loincloths were distributed by Tra Mongkut to thousands of rubber farmers nationwide. This purposeful action garnered positive engagement with our consumers. Amongst the rubber farmer’s community, this solution lighted ablaze with huge demand for more reprints. Non farmer community also caught attention of this initiative with over 112k social engagement at 100% positive conversation. Many people were indirectly re-educated the right way to treat venomous snake-bites.”  

Chatchai Butsabakorn, group creative director, Wunderman Thompson Thailand added: "We would like to make an impact to local farmer's community and build our brand under Terragro Fertilizer corporate vision of “Total Solution Provider”. By being that, we will always spotlight any farmer's problem that are often ignored and find a solution for them. Our Lifecover Loincloth is a solution to re-educate them about snake-bite treatment which they have been misled for the longest time by Thai pop culture. After launching the campaign, this campaign success is not only to create brand love but also to increase the chance of saving Thai farmer's life."