Heartwarming Chinese ad from 2006 shows how love trumps money every day: ‘Love is the only currency’

A 2006 Chinese New Year commercial by Petronas captures a truth that still hits home years later — that success, no matter how impressive, can’t replace presence. Set in a retirement home, the ad shows a group of elderly women chatting ahead of the holiday, reflecting on their children’s careers with a mix of pride and distance. One woman asks another, "So long you haven’t seen your children?" 

She replies, "They ah? So busy… so much work to do. My daughter is a lawyer." That opens the floodgates. One after another, the women begin describing what their children do, how far they’ve gone, and how much they earn. One says her son’s company exports traditional herbs overseas, and he even has business ties in the US and Hong Kong. "He even knows Andy Lau," she adds. One says that her son is a cardiologist based in London, a specialist who earns £20,000 per surgery.

Another speaks of a daughter working at a prestigious accounting firm, the name of which she doesn't remember, but says, "One year, she can earn up to $450,000." Amid all the discussion, one woman remains mostly silent. She listens, smiling occasionally, but offers nothing until someone finally turns to her and asks, "How about your son?" She pauses for a second, then answers, "My son is good. He’s coming to get me. Everywhere he goes, he wants me to follow." As soon as she says that, the other women fall silent. Moments later, a car arrives outside.

She stands and says, "My son is here." He greets her with a smile, saying, "Today we will go to Cameron," as his wife and child wait in the car. As she settles into the car, only to receive intense waves from her grandchild, the family drives off together. Inside, the other women watch from the window. Their earlier energy is gone, replaced by something more reflective, sad, and heavy with grief. The screen fades to black with a final line, "Love of the family is life's greatest blessing." The ad subtly yet profoundly sheds light on what often gets lost in the pursuit of more, which is why it stayed with audiences long after the credits rolled.

This idea that emotional well-being depends more on family connection than income is also supported by research. A widely cited 2010 study, based on over 450,000 responses to the Gallup–Healthways Well-Being Index, found that while life satisfaction continues to rise with income, people’s day-to-day emotional well-being stops improving beyond an annual household income of about $75,000. In other words, money may help people evaluate their lives more positively, but it does not make them feel better on a daily basis.

More than a decade later, the ad recently made rounds on Reddit and stirred introspection again. u/chantillylace9 wrote, "Love is the only currency that truly matters. No one is on their deathbed hoping for more money. They are desperate for more time to spend with loved ones." u/PaleFly shared, "I'm so jealous of grown ups who live close to their parents. I'm only able to see my parents once a year :/" u/1Killag123 added, "On the other hand, my parents are simply waiting to sell their house and leave to another country and spend everything until they die. Leaving nothing behind for anyone."