Diageo’s Johnnie Walker launched a massive advertising campaign in China revolving around the ‘Keep walking’ motto. The new promotional push dubbed ‘Yulu’ (or ‘Words of a Journey’), the brand’s largest ever effort of this kind on the market, sees 12 Chinese pioneers—including an artist, a real estate businessman, a fashion designer and a blogger—representing different areas of business and art and telling their inspirational life stories.
«We think it’s truly unique and extremely timely for our brand in China. What could be more appropriate to a brand that is all about progress than to talk about some of China’s most progressive individuals. We are excited about this campaign as it allows us to communicate with Chinese consumers in a heart to heart way and co-opt them into our brand values,» commented Foo Siew Ting, regional brand director of Johnnie Walker.
The campaign, developed by BBH China and a 360 Degree team from Ogilvy Shanghai, was kicked off on January 5 across the country and will be rolling out through March. It features dozen of short documentary series highlighting the road to success of people who managed to make it big in their lives. The heroes of the series, which is targeting consumers aged 25-35, include Han Han, who is author of China’s most popular blog, social activist Wang Keqing, artist Xu Bin, and fashion designer Wang Yiyang. The episodes were released both on TV and a variety of digital platforms across the web.
«Each film tells the unique story of one person, where they came from, how they got to where they are today and what it is that inspires them to do what it is they do. Our hope is that these stories will inspire people to reflect upon and tell their own stories,» said director Jia Zhangke.
Inviting successful people, both well-known and those who remain behind the curtain, to share their thoughts within promotional projects is a popular trend in today’s advertising. Recently, McDonald’s Portugal launched two websites, ‘Lives with M’ and ‘Stories with M,’ featuring people who are working now or have been working with the fast-food giant for some time. The goal of these programs is to inspire consumers and motivate them to achieve more—with the brand’s moral support.