Whoscall's pop-up turns Thailand's lucky numbers on their head

In Thailand, numbers carry weight. Lucky digits are believed to promise fortune, while unlucky ones are avoided at all costs. Whoscall, a caller ID app developed by Gogolook, has flipped this cultural instinct on its head with an immersive activation called The Unlucky Numbers Shop.

Rather than offering charms or talismans, the pop-up - developed with dentsu Thailand - presented the very opposite of luck. Shoppers encountered aisles stacked not with auspicious numbers but with millions of confirmed scammer phone numbers sourced from Whoscall’s extensive database. The goal is to illuminate the real danger lurking behind seemingly ordinary phone calls.

Thailand’s numerology-driven culture has long encouraged optimism and apathy in equal measure. Yet, these beliefs offer no protection against the tens of billions of baht lost annually to phone fraud. Whoscall sought a strategy that could provoke genuine behaviour change, and dentsu Thailand delivered by localising the campaign through cultural insight.

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“Phone scams in Thailand have become a massive problem that requires a practical approach and we aim for real behaviour change. Dentsu Thailand stood out by localising the strategy through cultural insight. They tapped into a uniquely Thai belief in lucky numbers and turned it into something powerful and relevant, helping us drive awareness and encourage people to take action by downloading Whoscall,” said Monprapa Rattanakanokporn, country marketing lead of Gogolook Thailand.

Visitors to The Unlucky Numbers Shop were greeted by dramatic, immersive installations. Towering Number Walls displayed scam numbers like prized collectibles, while a Guerrilla Station invited the stunned public to download Whoscall, offering a free 60-day trial of Whoscall Premium. Beyond the shop, Unlucky Number Warning Signs appeared at public installations, turning everyday commutes into moments of discovery and education.

Pawina Thuamsaeng, creative director at dentsu Creative Thailand, explained, “In the tapestry of Thai belief, numbers are woven with threads of hope and fortune. We listened to those whispers of tradition and transformed them into a canvas for change. By casting the familiar glow of lucky digits onto a backdrop of real-world peril, we invited every person to glimpse the unseen dangers beyond superstition. In marrying cultural nuance with bold creativity, we share Whoscall’s mission to protect and remind the nation that true luck lies not in chance or myth, but in awareness and choice.”

The campaign demonstrates how experiential retail can combine cultural resonance with public service. By confronting superstition with reality, dentsu Thailand and Whoscall delivered a message that is at once playful, provocative, and practical: true luck lies in being alert and protected.

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