Thai protest boycotts force businesses to pick sides
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[August 26, 2020] By
Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat
BANGKOK (Reuters) - The owner of Burger
King's franchise in Thailand became the latest company on Wednesday to
bow to boycott calls by protesters who accused it of advertising on a
television network they brand pro-government.
The protesters seek the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a
former junta leader, and new elections. Some have also called for
reforms of the powerful monarchy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, long a
taboo subject.
Supporters of the student-led protests that have run for more than a
month launched an online campaign to urge patrons to shun the franchise,
Minor International Pcl, and other businesses that had advertised on
Nation Multimedia Group.
A spokeswoman for Minor Food Group said it was pulling advertisements.
"The company accepts the views of its customers and will consider the
use of appropriate media, with immediate effect," the group said in a
statement to Reuters.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Aug/26/images/ads/current/fcs_funeral_lda082613.png)
Nation Multimedia Group's chairman, Shine Bunnag, told Reuters the
boycott was "social bullying from a group of keyboard thugs", however.
It has highlighted the emerging political challenge for companies from a
protest movement that has grown from Thai campuses with strong support
on social media, particularly among young people.
In another sign of a company making clear it was not siding with the
Thai government, Facebook said on Wednesday it would launch a legal
challenge to a demand that it block access to a group that often mocks
the monarchy.
"The political division in society is permeating to businesses...
putting companies in a very tight spot," said Ben Kiatkwankul of
Maverick Consulting Group, which advises companies on reputation and
government affairs.
"It is almost impossible to please everyone," he told Reuters.
There are parallels with Hong Kong, where businesses seen as
antagonistic to the democracy movement were boycotted by its supporters
in favour of 'yellow' companies that back the movement in contrast to
'blue' businesses deemed pro-government.
The biggest of dozens of street protests across Thailand to date drew
more than 10,000 people in Bangkok on Aug. 16, but social media shows
broader support, with some protest hashtags used or shared by millions
of accounts.
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![](../images/082620PIX/busine39.jpg)
Students make the three-finger salute and use their mobile phones as
flashlights to show support for the student-led democracy movement
at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, in the outskirts of
Bangkok, Thailand, August 19, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Aug/26/images/ads/current/graue_preowned_082420.png)
HASHTAG BAN
The Thai-language hashtag #bannationsponsors began trending late last week after
a reporter from Nation, widely seen as conservative, failed to identify herself
when interviewing protesters at a rally.
Nation, which also runs an English-language website, said it had reprimanded the
reporter, though Shine, its chairman, said she had been scared by "the mob".
"We are not the government's voice. We are media that stand with the people. Our
principles here are clear: nation, religion, monarchy. Emphasize, monarchy," he
said by telephone.
Shine said Nation's ratings rose as much as 20% during the incident over the
reporter, with some companies having increased their advertisement buys, while
the withdrawals had no impact.
"Social bullying is dirty and undemocratic," he said. "We will not be scared".
Student protestor Tanawat Wongchai said the boycott aimed to ensure Nation was
neutral. One of his tweets with the boycott hashtag was retweeted more than
1,000 times.
"If we want the media to change and improve, we have to pressure those
sponsors," he told Reuters.
Besides running more than 100 Burger King outlets, Minor Food is the domestic
franchise owner of Swensen’s and Coffee Club. It also has its own brand, the
Pizza Company.
Its shares fell 0.45% on Wednesday, compared to a 0.44% rise in the benchmark
index. Burger King's global owner is Restaurant Brands International Inc..
Food delivery service Foodpanda, a unit of Delivery Hero SE, said after being
targeted last week that it would stop advertising on Nation television and
"improve marketing practices".
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Aug/26/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png)
Thailand's Yanhee Vitamin Water also said it would stop ads on the outlet and
valued its customers’ opinion.
(Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Clarence Fernandez)
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