Picked this one up from Mark Englehart Evans blog, it’s a randomly cool billboard done by an environmental artist Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung; the subject? Siddhartha Obama, or to those of you not familiar with Eastern religion, it’s Obama depicted as Buddhism’s founder, and as the cure to the world’s environmental woes.
Based on my general experience of China advertising and social media, I’ve really come to admire Vancl’s advertising strategy.
The focus isn’t broad stroked Chinese cliche; or a usage of celebrities commonly seen promoting a myriad of products (like when you see famous Taiwan singer Jay Chou promote a fast food chain, a clothing line, a soft drink all in the same commercial break).
Looks like we’re coming to the end of the Shanghai Expo. I’ve been there a few times for various projects, and all I can say is that the massive scale of it is a sight to behold.
Picked this one up from LRB Forums; it’s a Guerilla marketing trick done by Guan Yin Yoga Club; which according to them cost about USD 74, and created about USD 138,000 in free press.
Picked this one up via LRB forums and Shanghaiist. It’s a recent campaign by Dior that visually treads the lines into racism against the Chinese. Interesting brand positioning “yes”; ability to catch attention and stir conversations “yes”; creates loyalty and brand affinity “no”; and therein lies the rub; one little “no” can ruin any good campaign.
Picked this one up via Adquan; it’s a Phillips campaign recently launched by DDB Shanghai, in conjunction with Shanghai Expo and the theme “Better City, Better Life”.
Suntory’s latest ad, seen in Shanghai’s subway, attempts to sell Suntory’s oolong tea by showing a model eating a pizza… did you just experience a disconnect? You are not alone.
Simon: I agree it's kinda jarring but the whole USP of the tea is that is apparently helps you lose weight…
Rand: Ah now I see; thats why they chose the anorexic model; lol - thanks for pointing that out -
Y: Totally took the EXACT same pic at Nanjing Xi Lu metro station, right? ;) It felt very Japanese. It seems…
Rand: ya thats right from nanjing road! :)
This recent campaign by Wildaid is pretty interesting; I’d venture to say most wildlife protection advertising is great; as their primary focus is to shock the crap out of you to get you to change your point of view. In this particular campaign seen in China’s subways; Wildaid shoots endangered animal posters with money, through the billboards glass. The end result is a billboard with a bullet hole; the center of which features a coin.
The intended communication? Each time you buy even a coin’s worth of endangered species produced product, you’re pretty much shooting the animal; sometimes on the torso, but in the case of elephants, in the face. Though difficult to see the actual copy (at first you’d almost think it was a Discovery Channel ad with animals leaping out of the billboards toward you) once the message is absorbed it has impact; and execution-wise it’ll catch your eye.
However, one must wonder of the effect on highly-trafficked China subways; will enough people, rushing from point A to point B stop to get the sense of the communication? Or will they simply tune into the Discovery Channel thinking to catch the new “3D animal show”?
julie: It is a great campaign. However, it is likely to be misunderstood as accidentally broken glass, as people rarely stand…
Rand: Exactly right; I think its great as well, but likely better if you saw it in a magazine so you…
Here’s a good example of a “Lost in Translation” ad; likely either done by a local agency, or the brand’s localized marketing staff.The original message is: “Set your enthusiasm on fire”; followed by an English sentence that says “WE are HIGH”… now there’s a line that has some stopping power.
Now I know this is just one of those translation things you’ll see in China; but lets suspend belief and treat this as if the message was intentional.
This ad seems to be targeting the wrong audience – with product like computer RAM that speeds up your computer, I’m not sure if saying “we are high” in English really appeals to this group… well maybe I’m wrong on that – playing by our “suspension of belief” rules, lets use our misguided insight to delve a bit deeper into Kingston’s USP.
So I’m walking to the bank the other day and as I was waiting I spotted this bicycle parked on the sidewalk with a condom mascot on it.
Now I’m assuming this is just one of those things you see in China, but for the sake of amusement, and also to kill a little time before I do some real work this weekend, let’s pretend it was a real campaign… so what’s the message? Here’s my take:
“Jissbon Condoms: Not too fast… not to slow; eventually you’ll get to your destination!”
If you have some time to burn – see if you can come up with a good campaign slogan for this one in the comment sections below. Here are a few pics (taken with my G1 phone) to get your (creative) juices flowing.
Phil: How about: "Jissbon Condoms: Always ride safely." I guess then you could also have a follow up with "what kind…
Rand: Hey Phil; nice slogan! Ya I'm not sure I'd want to be the cyclist for Jissbon either; guess it would…
Great outdoor ad mixes economic budget with maximum results. This PR stunt drove awareness from China media, magazines, newspaper, and websites (like this one). Brand awarness/recall peaked at 96% and sales figure for the period exceeded 120% beyond original targets. Looks like we have a winner here.
Preetam Rai: this is indeed cool. Thanks for posting these fascinating campaigns.
Rand: @preetam - happy to serve. Thx for the compliment - positive feedback is always very motivating.
::metamike::: great! an example of the ROI in this kind of campaigns, it´s not usual, thanks for the info. good job…
When I first saw this I thought; that’s pretty creative. But then I realized that the main copy of the ad is in English; when targeted to a Chinese crowd, it’s probably better to use Chinese.
So your argument will likely be this: many educated Chinese CAN read English. Yes that’s true, but the target isn’t educated Chinese, it’s all Chinese. When you combine this with the requirement of being at the perfect angle to get the full impact of the ad (many Chinese simply won’t bother with your ad if the idea isn’t immediately graspable) not having the right language displayed to increase likelihood of understanding seems to be a bit of a “d’oh!”
Alex Maltsev: Oh my gosh! I'm working in this building, it's in Shanghai, close to People Square.
puppiepoppy: Alex, I'm sure you've never see this outdoor ad in the actual building, I supposed. If it's in English, it's…
Our friends from the west will notice the “drinking and driving” conventional wisdom disconnect. The saving grace then is this is taxi cab ad, which implies that you are not the one drinking; you are the one rolling around drunk in the backseat as your driver speeds down a small alley dodging residents, bicycles, motorbikes, and the odd chicken/dog combo.
Davide: While I agree with LRB tha Ogilvy missed on the effectiveness of the ad, the idea is terrific. Since the…
Rand: @Davide - I do think the impression is made - but whether that impression is "drink beer" vs. "drink ZhuJiang…
Rand: Also, how would you bring the window to a bar? I'm sure the taxi driver would disagree with that approach…
Davide: Bringing the window to the bar is more of a euphenism for driving to a bar/shop, like the many that…
Davide: Also, sure the 'bring the window' thing would find disagreement with the cab drivers. The point being for such a…
This is great – simple and effective.
Great variation of a common sight in China. I’ve walked many a mall and have seen these long streams hanging from the face of buildings; they never really got my attention. However with Sieman’s easy twist, the common becomes alive. The communication is clear and sticks in the head.
Quite interesting art, with a bit of a “gross” factor; all art is made by creepy crawlies that would normally give you the heebie jeebies.
It’s difficult to imagine another outdoor communication that so effectively drives home the point; not only through visuals, but also through interaction.
By decorating your average ATM as a China mobile telephone, users are invited to see what it’s like to use a giant telephone for their banking needs. I wonder if China mobile offers banking on normal sized cell phones? This is a question that may never be answered. Oh wait, here’s the answer: “yes”.
Davide Pasini: Great idea with great impact. I have seen once in london another ambient advertising of a toll-truck carrying on top…
Mao Ruiqi: Yes, great idea! Much better suited than the spout from the belly idea.
Great concept and clear message: Lipton tea helps you lose weight.
Vincent: Great execution of a clear and relevant message. A sure winner in the category "the media becomes the message".To be…
I’m not quite sure I like this one; on the one hand, it gets the benefits of Gatorade through, but on the other, there is a definite “gross” factor to overcome; first with the “Is that faucet supposed to be his peni… oh! its coming out of his stomach!”, followed by… “ok so here I am washing my hands with someone’s sweat”.
Mao Ruiqi: Okay, so maybe as an active USA citizen, I'm into sweat as being sweet; well, up to a point. Nevertheless,…
Rand: @mao - ya i agree - at first i thought it was out of the box thinking, but then I…
Vincent: It is out of the box thinking wrongly applied. the tap becomes the message, and it says "drinking my sweat…
Simon: The point of viral marketing is to engage potential customers in unexpected ways that successfully convey the benefits of or…
So here’s one of those creatives that makes you think “hmmm, nice idea”; but then you see the execution and the demons of regret start poking you with their little sharp pointy sticks.
Mao Ruiqi: The hair idea...just too cool!
electromozzo: Hi, interest post. I’ll write you later about few questions!
Junko: If you think that is racist, why don't you take pictures of Chinese brands advertising in China? They always portray…
Rand: I don't think Dior is racist, though I do see how these ads can be defined as racist; it's not…
Junko: To see much worse ads, look around for the fake Western brands. Tons of them in Jiu Guang above Jing…
Rand: Well people always remember the bad stuff; and when you look at Chinese historically there's been a lot of unwanted…
KyleChin: "As to the A Dream of Red Mansion, different people have different discoveries: Scribes found I Ching; Taoists found erotism;…
Mao Ruiqi: Racism is a tough word to handle, especially if you do not first attempt to define your specific usage of…
Rand: Ya I agree; there is a clear dichotomy created in these ads. "Racism" is a tough word to handle; but…
Jessyclaire: I don't think it's racist as much as it is (and I'm in full agreement with you here) extremely poorly…
Rand: Ya agree; if there is any room to question racist vs. not racist, already there's a problem. The potential to…