We don’t understand the world of young people, why is “sorrow” so popular?

With the popularity of " sorrow culture ", mourning marketing is being used more and more in brand promotion . However, mourning marketing is not a panacea. If a brand goes too far in mourning marketing, it may give young people a sense of clumsiness, as if "the elders are forcing me to use emoticons ." If chicken soup is a hot item in the circle of friends of middle-aged and elderly friends, then "sadness" is likely to be sweeping the circle of friends of young people.

At the same time, a cup of " Sang Tea " began to become popular on Weibo. Someone wanted to open a " Sang Tea " opposite "Hey Tea" with the following menu: Green Tea with Milk Tea for Not Accomplishing Anything, Red Tea for Being Mediocre, Green Tea for Still Single, Macchiato for Not Having the Courage to Die, Milkshake for Not Having Money for Plastic Surgery, Fruit Tea for Not Being able to Lose Weight, Milk Tea for Ex-Boyfriend Getting Better and Better... There is always one that suits you!

Are you feeling "depressed" today? Let us just lie down and lie there until we die...After the craze of "positive energy" and "little happiness" has subsided, self-deprecation and negative energy are pouring out of the Internet at a faster pace, forming an unstoppable cultural phenomenon - the culture of mourning. Soon, marketers and advertisers took over and used this to break down the gap and barriers between themselves and young people.

Why has "sorrow" become a trend?

If you want to understand "sorrowful culture", you have to start with the "picture battles" among young people in group chats. This summer, a photo of Ge You lying down in the 1990s sitcom "I Love My Family" became popular on the Internet. In the photo, Ji Chunsheng, played by Ge You, has a face full of stubble, wears a grandma's floral shirt, and looks out of his body and has a look of despair on his face. Taking this as a starting point, emoticon packages with unique styles such as "Lazy Egg", "Pepe Frog", "Salted Fish", and "I May Meet a Fake XX" have appeared in various "picture battles" one after another. Without exception, they all convey a kind of self-deprecating feeling of "I am already a waste". This is the embodiment of "sorrowful culture" - black humor, pessimism and negativity.

Sadness is a way to vent "anti-chicken soup" emotions

High housing prices, high competition, high pressure... these undoubtedly play an important role in destroying the vitality of young people. You may think that a "loser" never works hard, but the reality is that they are really busy, busy with work, crowded subways, and busy dealing with various social activities outside of normal working hours. I'm busy like a dog, but there's no hope of promotion or salary increase. In that case, let's just lie down and lie there until we die.

"Sadness" is a self-deprecating expression for young people

Life is not just about the present, but also about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It is not difficult to find that this is a typical way for young people to express themselves on the Internet, complaining and making fun of themselves. A group of people gather around popular movies , TV or game characters to complain and then make fun of themselves. Even more brands are actively creating "criticisms" in order to satisfy young people's desire to complain.

(II) Is the “sorrowful culture” marketing guide really “sorrowful” enough?

Nowadays, "emotional consumption" has evolved into a powerful driving force for consumption. For example, various nostalgic movies can always trigger collective memories of netizens. Similarly, when "sorrow" becomes a collective emotion, it has a place to survive.

Using “Symbols of Sadness”

Case: Same as Taobao emoticon package

Sad expressions, represented by "Ge You's pose", have swept the Internet. These expressions are no longer concrete emoticons, but rather sad emoticon symbols. Taking this opportunity, Taobao also started selling various peripheral products related to the "paralysis" expression, including Ge You's paralysis mobile phone cases, Ge You's paralysis T-shirts, Ge You's paralysis pillows, etc. What is being sold is not the price, but an attitude - "sadness". Even the comedian Da Zhangwei has a T-shirt with Ge You lying on it in his wardrobe.

(Ge You paralyzed T-shirt)

(Salted fish emoji cup)

Creating a “Sorrowful Culture IP”

Case: Wang Sansan's endorsement of NetEase's funeral tea

As netizens’ homemade “Sorrow Tea” text became popular on Weibo, NetEase News Alliance and Ele.me actually opened a “Sorrow Tea” pop-up store. Although it only lasted for 4 days (April 28th - May 1st ), it dominated the screen throughout the May Day holiday.

Of course, NetEase, which took advantage of the marketing of "sadness", not only saw the popularity of sad tea, but also valued the fit between "sadness" and its brand image. Wang Sansan, the alpaca editor-in-chief of NetEase News, is a very sad sheep with his mouth corners turned down all year round. This sad expression makes him very suitable to be the spokesperson for sad tea. Behind the marketing of Sang Tea is NetEase News' ambition to build an IP image. In addition to the marketing of Sang Tea, Wang Sansan will also participate in various marketing activities of NetEase News as an individual.

Finding resonance with grief

Case: Rainbow Choir "Feeling Hollowed Out"

Last August, a divine song titled "Feeling My Body Is Hollowed Out" quickly swept social networks . After the song was released, it received tens of millions of hits on major video websites. The song was written by the Rainbow Band, which is famous for its divine songs. Netizens also called it "The Song of the Overtime Dog". Looking at the lyrics, the whole thing is "sadness" in capital letters, "I feel my body is hollowed out, I'm tired like a dog, I haven't removed my makeup for 18 days, and I've been wearing monthly contact lenses for two and a half years..." Following Ge You's collapse, "Feeling My Body Is Hollowed Out" hit the hearts of countless netizens with a deep sense of "sadness".

"Mourning" sales

Case: "Moonleaf" launches "Negative Cup"

Young people are so "depressed", so let's make a "depressed" cup that young people like. For example, this milk tea shop "Moonleaf" from Taiwan cooperated with the online illustrator "Negative Man" to launch 4 "negative cups". Your weight will not go down just because you drink one less beverage. This is a blatant complaint to the fans!

Coincidentally, not long ago, a creative team from Chengdu called "Test Institute" launched a "no hope" yogurt. It turned out to be a marketing plan for a dairy company in Sichuan. They changed the "new" hope on the packaging bag to "no" hope, and also released a serious poster.

After "No Hope" became popular, the team soon launched two other products: Unripe Yogurt and Heart-piercing Yogurt. It hurts, my friend!

(Unripe yogurt)

(Heart-piercing yogurt)

(3) “Suffering Marketing” may just be a flash in the pan?

With the popularity of "sorrowful culture", mournful marketing is being used more and more in brand promotion . This marketing that suits young people also makes the brand image fuller and brings it closer to consumers.

However, "sorrowful" marketing is not a panacea. On the one hand, if a brand goes too far in "sorrowful" marketing, it may give young people a sense of awkwardness, as if "the elders are forcing me to use emojis"; on the other hand, marketing such as NetEase's "sorrowful tea" is really difficult to replicate. Who knows how long this sudden trend of "sorrowful" will last? Ultimately, whether depression marketing can bring effect to a brand depends on the unique core of the product.

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