Dat Bike, BOLD84 and KitKat: The Work That Made Nhi Pham
With a sharp creative instinct and a fearless approach to problem-solving, Happiness Saigon’s Nhi Pham has grown from a junior role into one of the agency’s most trusted senior concept providers in just four years.
Born and raised in Northern Vietnam, Nhi moved to the South to pursue her love for creativity and quickly proved that her small stature hides a big, bold spirit.
As the brain behind some of Happiness’ most striking campaigns: from Dat Bike’s ‘Re:Charge’, where she navigated complex on-ground and on-deck challenges with tenacity to support SMEs and local businesses with her idea, to Bold84’s ‘Shake Express’, an idea that struck her while she was navigating Saigon’s famously bumpy streets on the drive home.
Nhi has shown an ability to push ideas further and bring them to life with infectious energy. A core part of the concept team and an effortlessly fun person to collaborate with, she’s become indispensable to Happiness’ creative culture.
LBB> The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
Nhi> There is a nationally famous milk brand named Vinamilk and I grew up with their TVCs. Back then, they used to have a series just to feature happy dairy cows in a funny scenario or in a song.
I can still sing along whenever I hear this song and this song being played or still find myself laughing when I watch the videos. They are my childhood.
LBB> The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Nhi> I don't remember which TVC exactly, but it was something I watched during my lunch when I was in high school. It was bad, really bad, and I wondered how they could make something like that air during lunch time.
I told my dad about it and he gently responded: “You can go and try to make good ads in the future. So people don't have to watch things like this anymore. You go change it".
After that lunch, I decided to get into the industry.
LBB> The creative work that I keep revisiting…
Nhi> It’s definitely Under Armour ‘Rule Yourself’ with Michael Phelps. I love how they let the visual tell the whole story in combination with the music, without any narrator nor supers, because the visual itself is strong enough. And they just end the video with one line: “It's what you do in the dark, that puts you in the light – rule yourself.” To this day, I still use this as a reference for some of my projects.
LBB> My first professional project…
Nhi> My first professional project was a campaign for Telfast, an allergy relief from Sanofi, in four markets: Vietnam, Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
LBB> The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…
Nhi> That piece is a commercial music video from a detergent brand in Vietnam. And also the one that I mentioned in question two.
LBB> The piece of work that still makes me jealous…
Nhi> It's ‘Have AI Break’ - KitKat. I love this so much that I wish I was the one coming up with this idea. It's so simple yet impactful, in the middle of the AI storm around the world. And so KitKat.
I also love ‘Uber Heetch’ - Heetch. Super smart and funny.
LBB> The creative project that changed my career…
Nhi> The creative project that changed my career is ‘Re:Charge’ - Dat Bike. Not only was it my first activation idea that came to life but also a project that pushed me so hard to take the lead and ready to do anything to deliver the best.
LBB> The work that I’m proudest of…
Nhi> The work that I'm proudest of is ‘Shake Express’ - BOLD84 because it received a lot of love from the locals, which means it’s insightful and culturally relevant. The campaign crossed its two-week KPI by 125% in just three days, very impressive for a new small coffee brand like BOLD84.
LBB> I was involved in this and it makes me cringe…
Nhi> I don't think there is any project that makes me feel like that.
LBB> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
Nhi> It's ‘Shake Express’. Not only because it's a fun idea to execute but also because of the reactions we have received through the project.
