Tết film in Vietnam: family short film or music video?
Most Tết brand films in Vietnam fall into one of two families. One is the story: a short film about home, family and the year that has passed, with the brand arriving near the end. The other is the song: a bright music video where the cast, the product and the audience all sing along.
Both are made for the same few weeks of attention, and the choice changes the script, the cast, the music, the schedule and the budget.
We have made both kinds. For Coca-Cola Vietnam and T&A Ogilvy we shot Fanta's "Tết sắc màu, vui bùng nổ", a 45-second commercial built on a song. For AstraZeneca and TBWA we shot Thương Phổi, a family short film of almost five minutes. Thương Phổi is not a Tết film. It is about screening for lung cancer. But it is built the way Tết short films are built: the family first, the message last.
The last shot of Fanta: Tết sắc màu, vui bùng nổ. In a music-led film the whole cast sings the brand line together.
Two kinds of Tết film
The family short film
Two to five minutes, made to be watched online.
A story about going home, a parent, or the people who wait for you.
The brand message arrives near the end, often as one line and a call to action.
Cast for chemistry across three generations.
A score written to the picture, not a song.
The music-video commercial
A song, written or licensed, that carries the brand line.
Choreography, colour, a large cast and a set dressed for Tết.
Animation and on-screen lyrics added in post.
Cut down to 30, 15 and 6 seconds for TV and paid social, and released in full online.
When the story is the right call
A short film suits a brand with something to say about family, care or memory. It asks for patience: the audience has to care about the people before the brand can say anything.
Thương Phổi follows a father and his family over the years: the children grow up, he faces a lung cancer diagnosis, and the film closes on a single plain line asking people over 50 who smoke to get screened, with a website to visit.
A family portrait from Thương Phổi. A short film spends its first minutes making the audience care about these four people.
What it takes to make:
A script that works without the brand. If the story only holds together because of the product, the audience notices.
Casting for a family. A father, a mother, a child and a grandparent who look as if they belong together. Children need their own schedule and a guardian on set.
Real places. A house with years in it, a school, a hospital corridor. Locations do more of the work than in a commercial.
Time with the actors. Fewer set-ups in a day, longer takes.
A father at his son's graduation in Thương Phổi. Moments like this are what a story film is bought for.
When the song is the right call
Music is part of how people in Vietnam prepare for Tết. Searches for music start rising in November and peak about two weeks before Tết, according to figures reported by Clever Group. The same piece lists music-led Tết films that worked: a Knorr music video with Trúc Nhân that passed 10 million views, and a Mirinda video with Bích Phương that drew more than 66 million views and a 41% rise in sales over Tết.
A song travels further than a story because people play it again on purpose. It also cuts down well: a chorus survives being shortened to fifteen seconds; a story rarely does.
Animation drawn over the performers in Fanta: Tết sắc màu, vui bùng nổ. In a music video, much of the energy is added after the shoot.
What it takes to make:
The song comes first. It is written or licensed, approved and recorded before anything is filmed. The shoot plays the track back so the cast can sing and dance to it.
Choreography and rehearsal. A day of rehearsal saves hours on set.
A set dressed for Tết. Apricot and peach blossom, a five-fruit tray, red and gold, built in a studio or on location weeks before the holiday.
Shots for post. Performers filmed against blue or green so they can be placed on animated backgrounds, and plates for the lyrics to sit on.
The garden set on our Fanta Tết shoot: apricot and peach blossom, chrysanthemums, bánh chưng and a red lattice, built and lit like a stage.
The camera close to the cast mid-song on the Fanta Tết shoot. Music-led films move fast, and so does the camera.
What changes in the production
Music rights. An original song can be owned outright and cut any way you like. A known hit brings recognition, but it is licensed by platform, territory and period, and edits need permission. Either way the singer's fee and usage are their own line in the budget. We explain usage in talent usage rights and buyouts.
Casting. Tết is about three generations, so both formats usually cast grandparents, parents and children. A music video adds dancers, and a famous singer adds their own diary and their own usage terms.
The set. Tết décor has to be ready long before Tết. Blossom in October is usually artificial or brought in from outside the season.
Post. A short film needs a grade and a score. A music video needs animation, on-screen lyrics, an edit cut to the beat and many more versions.
Setting up beside the apricot blossom on our Fanta Tết shoot, in November, more than two months before the holiday.
The calendar for Tết 2027
Mùng 1 Tết in 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February. Clever Group reports that brands start their Tết campaigns right after Mid-Autumn, in early September, plan them four to five months ahead, and release them one to two months before Tết.
Working back from that, a Tết film should be briefed in September, shot in October or November, and finished by early December. A music video needs the song recorded before the shoot, so it starts earlier still.
Working back from 6 February 2027. The timing figures are from Clever Group; the production blocks are typical for a film of this kind.
The weeks before Tết are the busiest of the production year, so directors, studios and cast are booked early. We set out the general timetable in TVC production timeline.
Can one shoot make both?
Rarely. A family short film and a music video need different casts, different lighting and different rhythms on set.
One shoot can make a film and its stills, though. The Fanta Tết shoot also produced the campaign photography. We cover how in film and stills from one shoot.
Quick answers
How long should a Tết film be?
Usually 15 to 30 seconds for TV, two to four minutes for a music video online, and three to five minutes for a short film, with a 30- or 60-second cut for paid media.
When should we brief a Tết film?
In September for a Tết that falls in late January or February. Later than October, the choice of director, studio and cast narrows quickly.
Original song or a known hit?
An original song is yours to cut and reuse, but it has to earn its place. A hit is recognised at once, but it is licensed for a set time and set platforms, and renewing it costs money.
Dream Media develops, directs, shoots and finishes brand films in-house in Ho Chi Minh City, Tết campaigns included. See TVC and digital production.