Advertiser wants to share the "essence" of football hero Zico

KIATISUK “ZICO” SENAMUANG, who manages the national football team, was taken aback when the people who make Brands chicken essence chose him to be a presenter for its 180th-anniversary campaign. “I’m not in my prime like when I was playing for the national team,” he told FM99 sports radio, but his humility ignores a resurgence in the squad’s popularity under his coaching.
His fee – rumoured to a string of seven digits – is probably a good investment for Brands, in fact. After all, Zico is not only a hit as a manager, but also one of Thailand’s most popular players of all time, scoring 251 goals in 339 appearances during the course of his 18-year career on the pitch.
“I’m not a celebrity like most Brands presenters, but I trust they’ll make me look good in the TV commercial!” he laughed.
What Brands mainly sees in Zico is that he’s a genuine inspiration for people. As a boy he dreamed of playing for the national player, then became a good one, and ultimately rose to the managerial level.
As a bonus, Zico doesn’t need to pretend he likes the product he’s touting. He’s been buying and using the soup stock essences since he was a kid. “I needed to be physically fit for the game, and Brands became one of my regular nutrition sources.”
Sold! That sounds like a seven-digit sales pitch to us!

Overly familiar face
Pravit Maleenont, whose name is on the biggest door at Channel 3, is sounding rather defiant in the face of demands that hospitals stop automatically tuning their TV sets to his channel. He’s also being quite reasonable about it.
The issue went public after complaints came into the Public Health Ministry’s hotline that other channels are rarely seen in state hospitals. And yet it’s Channel 3’s news host – the ministry didn’t name him, but obviously Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda is the host in question – who’s being investigated by the National Anti-corruption Commission. The callers wondered why patients should have to watch him all the time. Aren’t they suffering enough?
Okay, they didn’t say that last part, but the ministry was sufficiently empathetic to urge hospital staff to keep changing channels on their TV sets. The alternative that has long been kicked around is that Channel 3 suspend Sorrayuth until his guilt or innocence is decided.
At the weekend Pravit told reporters he didn’t think Sorrayuth was getting a fair shake. He managed to keep a smile on his face while asking whether TV stations might have to suspend everyone who comes under suspicion. “What if the person isn’t guilty? A case like this takes years to settle, and if we don’t allow him to work, how is he going to earn a living?”
So Pravit’s decided to let Sorrayuth carry on delivering the news on TV (as long as it’s not about Sorrayuth, of course). “Let the verdict come out first and then we shall see.”
The reporters probably wanted to ask Pravit who would replace Sorrayuth if the country’s top-rated news host were indeed found guilty, but again there was that cumbersome “innocent until” issue standing in the way.