How are the world's biggest brands celebrating the Year of the Rabbit?

For the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lunar New Year celebrations in China can go ahead without restrictions, and there is an optimistic feeling among both consumers and brands.

This year, the Lunar New Year period (known as Spring Festival in Chinese) runs from Chinese New Year’s Day on 22 January to Lantern Festival on 5 February and is expected to be a bonanza for both shopping and travel. Brands are making the best of the market recovery with a raft of Year of the Rabbit-themed campaigns and capsule collections.

Read on to take a look at some of the main trends and successful campaigns we’ve come across so far.

Cute collabs

The rabbit is one of the “cuter” Chinese zodiac animals, and several brands have built on this feeling with collaborations with famous cartoon characters and toy brands.

Hugo Boss teamed up with Bugs Bunny from Looney Tunes, with the iconic rabbit appearing on hoodies, high-tops and varsity jackets. Mulberry collaborated with Dutch cartoon bunny Miffy for a capsule collection of some of its iconic bag styles in Miffy’s signature green, blue and orange.

L’Oréal Paris collaborated with Chinese toy brand RobbiART to create both festive red and gold gift boxes and a limited edition Robbi rabbit collectible. The collaboration created a lot of buzz among collectible toy-mad Gen Z consumers, generating over 55 million views of the branded hashtag on Weibo in the 10 days after the campaign launched.?

These campaigns tap into ‘meng (萌)’ culture, a preference among some Chinese consumers for cute and childish things. Some have speculated that this trend took hold among millennial and Gen Z consumers as a therapeutic response to the extreme social and economic pressure – to get a better job, to get married, to buy a house – that many young people in China face.

Home for the holidays

Many brands tap into the emotional connection and nostalgia of Lunar New Year for their campaigns.?

Womenswear brand Self-Portrait, established in 2013 by Malaysian-born designer Han Chong, released a Lunar New Year capsule collection with an accompanying campaign shot by British-Chinese photographer Alexandra Leese. The collection of clothing for women and children in festive red and pink shades is inspired by Chong’s memories of celebrating Lunar New Year in Malaysia when he was growing up, and the important role of women in celebrations at this time of year.?

Bottega Veneta won acclaim from Chinese consumers for its minimalist, culturally situated campaign. Themed “Reunion in Motion,” the campaign film celebrates the excitement of returning home for the holidays (particularly poignant for many travellers this year), depicting journeys across China’s stunning landscapes by road and rail. The campaign also included an offline element; a traditional “green-skinned train” that will travel to key locations throughout China marked with the simple message “On roads that lead home: Happy New Year” (with a notable complete lack of Bottega Veneta branding).

Into the metaverse

The metaverse is a hot topic in China right now, so naturally, brands are jumping into the metaverse for their Lunar New Year promos.?

Both Taobao and parent company Alibaba have metaverse spaces where users can shop, socialise and, in Alibaba’s case, play festive games to earn points that can be exchanged for prizes such as hongbao (red envelopes). Taobao is hoping that features such as 360-degree product views and virtual try-ons will enrich the online shopping experience and tempt people away from brick-and-mortar stores.

The CCTV New Year Gala, traditionally one of the world’s most-viewed TV events, will also be screened in the metaverse for the first time, thanks to Netease.?

Even McDonald’s USA is getting in on the action, partnering with digital content creator Karen X Cheng on a series of Lunar New Year-inspired designs, including an Instagram AR filter, a TV commercial partly generated using AI technology, and a series of Metaverse experiences hosted by Spatial. The McDonald’s campaign is a good example of the importance of considering overseas Chinese communities as part of your China marketing campaigns.

Key takeaways

Chinese consumers (particularly Gen Z) respond well to campaigns that incorporate Chinese cultural elements – but only when they are authentic and well-intentioned. The merest hint of ‘culture washing’ can be met with derision on social media, so brands need to think carefully about visual design elements and choose creative brand and IP collaborations.?

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