2010 was the year of the Tiger (and I don’t mean Mr. Woods). It certainly brought an exciting 365 days for the Chinese; whether it be the colossal Shanghai EXPO, the launch of ‘China’s Got Talent‘, seeing Google going toe-to-toe with the Chinese government, or perhaps the fact that Facebook might be coming back to the Mainland?!
Who knows…but let us take a deep breath and look back at some the creative work that has emerged from the PRC in the past year — rather than doing a top 10 (…way too difficult) it seemed more appropriate to pay homage to some of this year’s work by doing an Oscaresque “best of” each category. Let’s begin…
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Packaging
Brand: Absolut Vodka
Campaign: Absolut 72变 (Transformations) — Limited Edition Bottles
Agency: TBWA Greater China
Swedish Vodka brand Absolut created a limited edition version of its bottle solely for the Chinese market. It was inspired by the Journey to the West’s legendary Monkey King – (Sun Wukong) and his 72 ‘biàn’ aka transformations. Only 350,000 bottles were produced.
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Print
Brand: Inalfa Sunroofs
Campaign: ‘Give Your Family A Better View’
Agency: JWT China
A very bold campaign – both amusing and memorable.
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Direct Marketing
Brand: Guangyin Yoga Club (Shanghai)
Campaign: Man Inside A Box
Agency: n/a
A simple, effective, original, and widely talked about execution that won the yoga club far more customers than it had expected, plus the total cost of the campaign was £74. The holy grail of marketing campaigns — innovative, cheap and gets results.
On Youtube:
On Tudou:
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TV
Brand: Air China
Campaign: Be Our Guest
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather (Beijing Branch)
A world away from the powerful, authoritarian, and no-nonsense image of the Chinese Government. The state-run national airline, ‘Air China’ used a cute cuddly bear to promote how much it values its customers.
It might not be the most amazing TV Commercial of 2010 but for some reason it brings a smile to my face.
On Youtube:
On Youku:
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Viral
Brand: IBM
Campaign: eX5 server viral
Agency: OgilvyOne (Beijing Branch)
‘Hu Ge’ has created some amazing virals this year, but a viral that really stood out was this retro viral from IBM to promote its eX5 server.
On Youtube:
On Youku:
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Celebrity Endorsement
Brand: Lipton
Campaign: Lipton Milk Tea
Agency: DDB (Shanghai Branch)
Takeshi Kaneshiro (Chinese name: Jīnchéng Wǔ – 金城武) stepped up to promote Lipton Milk Tea on Chinese shores with a TV / Poster campaign.
On Youtube:
On Youku:
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Branding
Brand: Forever Bicycles
Campaign: Forever C
Agency: n/a
Forever Bicycles (永久 – Yǒng jiǔ) launched a new range of colourful retro-styled bikes under a new brand called, ‘Forever C’. The ‘C’ has six meanings:
- China – 中国 (Zhōng guó)
- Classic – 经典 (Jīng diǎn)
- City – 都市 (Dū shì)
- Colourful – 多彩 (Duō cǎi)
- Cycle – 自行车 (Zì xíng chē)
- Culture – 文化 (Wén huà)
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Social Marketing
Brand: Beijing Women & Children Development Foundation
Campaign: Do They Really Know Their Food
Agency: Shunya (Shanghai Branch)
A nice little poster campaign telling parents to ensure they know what their children are eating. Look closely now…
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Online
Brand: Nike China
Campaign: Liu Xiang More Than A Flying Man
Agency: W+K (Shanghai Branch)
For more information click HERE
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Photography
Brand: Osim
Campaign: Osim Sona Pillow
Agency: JWT (Hong Kong Branch)
Osim used some wonderful imagery to promote its super comfy Sona Pillow.
No doubt many of you will have you’re own favourite works from the past year, please do share them in the comments section.
Happy New Year one and all.
