Nike and Apple touching the right Chinese culture strings this Lunar New Year

Some western brands are touching the right Chinese culture strings.

Marketing campaigns by several fashion powerhouses Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and Zara have seriously backfired past year while trying to cozy up to the Chinese, with the brands being accused of either being unrepresentative or outright racist.

On the other hand two western brands are touching the positive emotions of Chinese consumers and culture big time this Lunar New Year festival period.

The Nike Lunar New Year ad campaign has received lots of praise by millions in China, describing as 'close to real life', 'down to earth', 'reflecting daily life' and ' a normal sense of humanity'. The ad shows an aunt chasing her niece, trying to give her a red envelope while the girl keeps running away in Nike shoes. In Chinese tradition, it is customary for recipients to refuse the envelope as a courtesy, at least at first. But as years pass in the ad, the roles reverse, and so does the chase. For renowned brands, it might be more important to form emotional resonance to get a closer relationship with consumers than to express information about the product itself.

Apple’s Lunar New Year marketing campaign seems also to be paying off in China with millions of praising comments. Apple released a short film few days ago to respect the tradition of Chinese New Year and highlights the filmmaking capabilities of the iPhone 11 Pro. The film, titled 'Daughter', is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Theodore Melfi and stars 周迅 (Zhou Xun), one of China's most renowned actresses. A real-life story about three generations of Chinese women coming together at Chinese New Year, the short film focuses on the generational differences and their lives. It's a truly touching film about pride, acceptance, and family and like the Nike ad, it is pulling at the heartstrings of many Chinese viewers. If you like to feel a glimpse of Chinese society today, sit out the stretch of this 8 min. film.

For other short movies collected on Chinese culture and society today, don’t hesitate to visit the 5iZ China youtube page : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYtiG1uRxBWOC4QvkV9Mxsg

#chinesesociety #chineseculture #chinesenewyear #lunarnewyear #springfestival #china

source : Apple, Nike, sixthtone