Spring Festival Brand Marketing Formula

It is less than two weeks to the Chinese New Year of the Tiger, and it is time for major brands to submit their CNY responses. Because it is the Year of the Tiger, the tiger has become a must-have element, and all kinds of tigers are emerging one after another.

The first thing we have to mention is the Gucci real tiger advertisement that has dominated the hot searches in the past two days. Although the statement "Gucci cares about nature and wildlife" is posted on each advertisement, the use of real tigers in the advertisements and the fact that the king of beasts is made to feel like a "captive kitten" have triggered strong protests from major animal protection organizations. The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation said, "Gucci's use of tigers for commercial purposes violates business ethics and is equivalent to encouraging illegal hunting and trade of endangered animals in disguise."

In contrast, Prada’s Tiger Year blockbuster called for the protection of the Siberian tiger, which gained a lot of favor. On the occasion of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Tiger in 2022, Prada launched the "Year of the Tiger Action" advertising blockbuster and special projects, aiming to raise people's awareness of the plight of tigers and, through a series of actions, to protect this legendary beast.

The advertising video is full of creativity, putting the iconic triangle logo on a "tiger year jacket". This series of advertisements is just the beginning of the multi-layered narrative of the "Year of the Tiger Action", whose deeper essence is to raise people's awareness of protecting this endangered legendary animal. Relying on traditional Chinese craftsmanship and incorporating the characteristics of the tiger, Prada's most distinctive logo has been transformed into a powerful symbol, calling for "action".

On January 19, Nongfu Spring released its New Year's advertisement for the Year of the Tiger. Perhaps because the advertisement was released in collaboration with the China Space Foundation, the line in the advertisement, "Today, our family also lives in space," echoed the Chinese space station traveling in space. Many netizens also left comments saying, "The little tiger is so cute!"

The scene of Big Tiger telling a story to Little Tiger reminds people of "The Lion King". Perhaps this New Year blockbuster of Nongfu Spring should be named "Tiger King".

Of course, there is also the animated Tiger Year blockbuster shot by Ogilvy for Coca-Cola, which embodies the reunion in the Year of the Tiger and brings out the beauty.

01 The brand’s original “tiger” image

I believe there is no need to elaborate on how much importance "high-end luxury brands" attach to the Chinese market today. As the Lunar New Year is the most important festival in China, launching a new year limited edition series that is fashionable and in line with Chinese traditions has become a "must-answer question" for big brands every year.

As more and more brands join the Spring Festival marketing race and the issue of cultural appropriation receives more and more attention in the overall environment, Chinese consumers' tastes are becoming more and more "picky". Problems such as Western perspectives, outdated aesthetics, and routine appear in the Lunar New Year series of many Western brands. Complaining about the CNY series has even become a "new tradition" for many young people during the Chinese New Year.

Compared with previous zodiac signs such as the pig, sheep, and dragon, which have great cultural differences between the East and the West, this year's zodiac sign of the tiger seems to perform better. Compared with some perfunctory or even "eye-catching" designs in previous years, this year's brands have put in a lot of effort, and the Tiger Year limited edition is more sincere. The tall and mighty king of beasts, the cute and lively tiger, the wild and handsome tiger stripes...all kinds of tiger elements are played with by brand designers.

Louis Vuitton's special series for the Year of the Tiger almost completely continues the design of the Year of the Ox, except that the ox is replaced by the tiger element. Small accessories such as cashmere scarves and tiger head pendants can showcase the characteristics of the Year of the Tiger through details.

Dior Men's Wear once again teamed up with New York graffiti artist Kenny Scharf to reinterpret the tiger totem in the Chinese zodiac through graffiti art.

Estee Lauder's "Year of the Tiger" New Year limited edition series features a tiger roar pattern superimposed with rose patterns, paired with eye-catching red, to kick off the new year with the image of a tiger sniffing a rose.

02 Jointly branded with the famous “tiger” IP

More brands choose to collaborate with mature IPs, among which the most popular one is "I am not Fat Tiger".

"I'm Not Fat Tiger", written by the popular cartoonist Uncle Fujima, changed the domineering and ferocious image of the tiger and quickly became popular with its silly and cute shape, naive expression and light-hearted and humorous comic plot. Nowadays, the "I'm not Fat Tiger" emoticon series has dominated the mobile phone screens of young people, and various blind boxes, figures and other peripherals have also emerged in an endless stream, winning the love of a large number of fans.

According to incomplete statistics, since January 2022, "I'm Not Fat Tiger" has carried out joint cooperation with many brands in the field such as AHC, Nutrilon, By-Health, Xixifu Bookstore, Golden Dragon Fish, Semir, Nestle Coffee, Elevit, P&G, POCKEY, Philips, Kuaishou, etc. The forms of cooperation include appearing in brand commercials, joint products, gift boxes and blind boxes, it is a veritable "cute tiger with traffic".

Of course, there is also Tigress from "Kung Fu Panda". For example, Etro chose to combine the image of Tigress with the brand's iconic paisley pattern to launch new products.

03 If there is no tiger, use a cat

Perhaps because the tiger is also considered a "big cat", many brands choose to use cats instead of tiger images. This year, A BATHING APE collaborated with MEDICOM TOY to launch two special New Year joint BE@RBRICKs, with the themes of "Lucky Cat" and "Dharma", respectively using gold and silver colors, and the words "招福" and "福" are also written on them.

There is also a joint model of Vinda and My Emperor. Because Vida has always had a joint collaboration with Wu Huang Wan Shui, and in the New Year series, Wu Huang was given a tiger-head hat, turning him into a cute tiger.

So, real tiger, fat tiger, cartoon tiger, paper-cut tiger, cute tiger, trendy tiger, which kind of tiger is your favorite?

Author: Modern Advertising Magazine

Source: Modern Advertising Magazine