McDonald’s (麦当劳 – Màidāngláo) has just launched a new digital campaign in China.
The focus of this new campaign is the feeling of happiness, and it is aimed at urban Chinese white-collar workers. The campaign’s slogan is快乐就是0负担 (Kuàilè jiùshì 0 fùdān), which roughly translates to ‘Happiness is 0 burdens‘.
For those confused by the awkward translation, the slogan is suggesting that true happiness is when you let go of the burdens of everyday life.
The TVC (which also headlines the digital elements) for the campaign is directed by and features the Chinese actress and director Jane Wu (Chinese name: 徐静蕾 – Xú Jìnglěi).
For those of you living outside mainland China, Jane Wu is an extremely popular Chinese celebrity – so much so that her Sina based blog was once the most clicked blog on the internet.
Within the advert Chinese people give their thoughts on happiness are, and the question of ‘what is happiness?’ forms the basis of McDonald’s new Tudou page. Go check it out.
I will keep this post short and sweet. Coming up are three print ads for the Chinese pharmaceutical organisation Sanjiu (三九) which literally translates to 3-9, but in fact refers to ‘999’.
In China, the number ‘9’ or 九 (jiu) is seen as meaning ‘long’ so three number nine’s or 999 is in fact a metaphor for long life. Thus the Chinese see Sanjiu medicines as adding longevity to one’s life.
So that’s the company, and now here are the ads:
The slogan of the ads translates to ‘Reverse the pain’ as the visuals metaphorically demonstrate.
Yes, it’s yet another viral video! This time it comes from the computer hardware giant IBM. In 2005, IBM merged it’s PC division with the equally giant Chinese based computer manufacturerLenovo (联想 – lián xiǎng).
The Japanese style viral is promotes the IBM eX5 server, that launched in China 3rd of March 2010:
It’s not very exciting to look at, and it’s difficult to understand exactly what it does. This is where the viral video comes in. The video provides a metaphor of what the IBM eX5 can do for a business, that is support invisibly from behind scenes to effortlessly allow organisations to achieve their goals.
Jealousy International has caused an uproar from the British public through its recent promotion of the lingerie range based around Princess Diana called ‘Diana’ (戴安娜 – Dài ān nuó).
The promotion was spotted last week by a British journalist in China’s Shenzhen airport. Since then photos of the ads have been posted in newspapers / websites around the world.
For those of you reading this blog in China, I will try to put the British upset into perspective. Princess Diana was a national heroine / treasure, she was adored by the British public when she was alive and even now 13 years after her tragic death.
Imagine if a British company started using Chairman Mao Zedong‘s image inappropriately – then that is how the majority of British people are feeling right now.
The Diana range was actually created in 1996, before her tragic death, but its the new advertising campaign that has caused all the controversy. The Chinese company had no intention of causing offence, they aimed to honor Princess Diana and wanted Chinese consumers to love and feel a British style.
In the last decade the Diana range has become extremely popular, and it is in fact one of the most influential lingerie brands in China.
It should be noted that the range was also inspired by Diana – the goddess of the moon. Unfortunately for Jealousy International the British public merely see the products as blatant exploitation.
The video above entitled ‘For Love’ (为爱 – Wèi ài) was released online this month by Crystal CG. It’s an animation that resembles the great battle between the fast food giants KFC and McDonald’s as they fight to dominate China.
The history of KFC and McDonald’s in China A logical place to start is the beginning. You may be surprised to know that it was KFCor as the Chinese call it Kěn Dé Jī (肯德基)who first entered China. Thursday 12th November, 1987 was the day when KFC opened its first restaurant in Beijing (shown in the image below).
McDonald’saka Mài dāng láo (麦当劳) on the other hand, did not enter the Chinese market until 1990. Thus KFC had a 3 year head start.
The reason why KFC entered China before McDonald’s was because each produced differing research results of Chinese consumers. McDonald’s research said that the Chinese were very stubborn and were unlikely to take to McDonald’s products.
KFC on the other hand found quite the contrary, their research said the Chinese will love the ‘xīfāng de kuàicān’ (西方的快餐) which translates in English to ‘Western fast food’!
What happened next?
Well, at first, the restaurants sat peacefully side-by-side with KFC selling chicken and McDonald’s selling hamburgers – that was that. However, things soon turned ugly.
McDonald’s was not satisfied with being second to KFC in China, so they started selling chicken wings too and so battle begun. In 1999, a full scale price war broke out between the two, but come 2004 despite McDonald’s attacks KFC‘s market share was 25% greater.
Why was KFC coming out on top? The answer is simple. KFC understood and catered to the Chinese people far better.
Of course chicken was already a popular part of many meals in China but KFC did more than offer a new take on how to cook chicken, they adapted their whole product range to meet Chinese needs but more importantly their local needs. That’s right, province to province, and this gave KFC the edge over its rival as McDonald’s stuck firmly with its Western style.
Cue the McDonald’s fight back
In 2003, the McDonald’s slogan became ‘I’m lovin’ it’ and the importance the restaurant chain placed on the Chinese market was demonstrated in the advert they created which featured American singer / actor Leehom Wang (Wáng Lìhóng – 王力宏):
As well as this Maccy D’s began to open 24 hour branches, KFC quickly adapted an began to offer match the offering. The battle between the two was becoming fiercer and fiercer. The next plan of attack came in the form of McDonald’s drive-thru restaurants and these gave the big M chain a slight but key advantage.
What does the future hold? KFC is still outdoing McDonald’s and the chain is further catering greatly to the local Chinese markets as their recent ‘rice bowl’ ( ad campaign shows. However, McDonald’s are not giving up and their plans for next few years will certainly keep Colonel Harland Sander’s chain on its toes.
In fact McDonald’s has just kicked off its 20th anniversary celebrations in China with a lovely social media campaign on Douban.com
It seems the battle for China has really only just begun…
Let’s keep this short and sweet. Here are the latest Nike (耐克 – Nài kè) posters to launch in China. They are promoting Nike Free Run trainers and to be honest there’s not much more to say about them.
However, if you want to find out more about Nike‘s Chinese offering check out: www.nikerunning.com.cn.
Li-Ning(李宁) is definitely doing its utmost to fulfill its new slogan ‘Make the Change‘.
For the first time in its history, Li-Ning has embraced video sharing platforms to promote its products. Since the re-brandLi-Ning has been completely rejuvenated, and the brand is undoubtedly one the hottest and most exciting brands in China right now.
Further to this, the Chinese sportswear giant has just released five well-produced and engaging virals (below) to promote its youth centric ‘After 90‘ (90后) range:
Luminous Badminton (夜光羽毛球 – Yèguāng yǔmáoqiú)
Magnetic Trainers (磁力球鞋 – Cílì qiúxié)
Power Trainers (充电跑鞋 – Chōngdiàn pǎoxié)
Laser Trainers (激光球鞋 –Jīguāng qiúxié)
Fan Trainers (风扇球鞋 – Fēngshàn qiúxié)
The virals present some really neat ideas and will no doubt be lapped up by Chinese Netizens.
The message of the above commercial is 天天喝养乐多 (or in pinyin ‘Tiāntiān hē yǎng lè duō’) which in English translates to ‘Drink Yakult Every Day‘.
For those of you who don’t know,Yakult is a probiotic drink and just to educate you ‘probiotic‘ refers to ‘live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’. hmm.
Yakult is actually originally from Japan and the Japanese call it ヤクルト pronounced in English as ‘Yakuruto’. The Chinese on the other hand call the drink, ‘Yì duō‘ (益多).
Anyway back to the marketing campaign. As well as the TV advert, Yakult has been promoting its product across China in a variety of ways. Including subway advertising to print ads which are shown below:
The Yakult brand is further becoming an extremely popular amongst urban Chinese citizens. Before I finish I thought it would make an interesting comparison to see the Chinese commercial against the current UK / USA TV ads:
UK
USA
Despite their current differences it wasn’t too long ago when the British Yakult ads were along the lines of China’s current commercials.
The commercial promotes COFCO’s (The largest food manufacturer, processor and trader in China) drink brand ‘Lohas‘.
The girl in the advertisement is the famous Taiwanese model and actress Lin Chi-Ling (林志玲). It’s not the most inspiring or original ad that I’ve seen of late, but it certainly cheered me up after a long day at work.
Air China or as the Chinese say ‘中国 国际 航空 公司‘ (Zhōngguó guójì hángkōng gōngsī) literally translating to ‘China International Airlines Company‘ is the country’s second largest airline.
The state run organisation has just launched a new TV ad campaign to promote the message ‘无论你是谁，来者都是客‘ (Wúlùn nǐ shì shuí, lái zhě dōu shì kè) which in English roughly means ‘All customers are distinguished guests, no matter who you are‘.
The ad itself is actually quite amusing, it uses the journey of a teddy bear to demonstrate the wonderful service customers receive throughout their whole experience with the airline. The ad is also designed to demonstrate that Air China is a modern and international brand:
The new commercial will broadcast on International flights on-board televisions, airport check-ins, Air China ticket sale offices, and Phoenix Satellite TV in Europe and the USA.
Chinese netizen reactions from Youku (aka China’s answer to YouTube) show much appreciation for the ad’s cuteness but also the background music — I am sorry to say that I am not a fan of the latter.
Ads of China // 中国广告 