Google Thailand came to us with the bare bones of a story that was almost hard to believe. In 2017, a man known only as ‘Aum’ hit Thailand’s national news when it emerged that he’d been reunited with his father after being missing for 15 years. The amazing part was that he was unable to read or write and had used Google voice search to find his way home. One year on, Google asked us what could be done with the story. When we dug deeper, there was no doubt it seemed a great opportunity. Aum’s discovery of voice activated search was a genuinely magical one. He’d literally stumbled across Google’s microphone symbol one day and, to his surprise, it repeated back what he said. Working closely with the client, we developed the plan to create a hero film that would get the nation’s attention and build brand love.

When Aum was seven years old he ran away from home looking for adventure. Little did he realise that he wouldn't see his family again for over 15 years.

The film recreates Aum's childhood years as we hear from him the reasons why he left home and why he never made it back. We learn that the adventure turned to nightmare and discover that he lived a homeless life, selling CDs to tourists on the streets.

The film jumps forward to present day and the film shows how Aum's love of internet cafes opened up a world of discovery. Despite being illiterate, Aum realised he could use Google Voice Search to ask questions, like "How can I find my way home?". One thing leads to another and thanks to perseverance and good luck, Aum was eventually reunited with his father.

Aum now helps other lost children reunite with their families.

This narrative-led piece of almost fiction-like storytelling was all about the craft. Beautifully composed wides on rooftops, or silhouettes in alleyways were planned carefully in advance to convey the isolation or vulnerability that Aum faced at points in his life. These were preceded by moments of fast-moving, handheld footage, to capture the energy and excitement of running away. This approach to the visual-language enabled us to do things you’d normally only do in a fictional narrative - such as the mirroring device we have at the start of the film, where we open on Aum as a lost child, juxtaposed with the older, present-day Aum looking at a photograph of his younger self - a visualisation of his own memories. Months after we began filming on location in Thailand, the end result was a genuinely moving story that humanised the role of technology and generated millions of views in hours.