Coffee brands are working hard to turn the Chinese into the coffee-drinking nation, using the traditional western stories with strong rebellious characters for their advertising campaigns. One of the strongest players on the coffee market, Nescafé, has tapped Chinese professional rally driver, blogger, best-selling author, singer Han Han to front its recent campaign ‘Live Out Your Boldness’ by Publicis Nestle Team Beijing, in which the 29-year old man is living his life to the full and never misses an opportunity to experience something new, with no boundaries or restrictions (of course, nothing illegal).    

The new campaign, which will be running for 100 days through March 2012, also includes online integration on Sina.com, where Nescafé consumers can post examples of their own boldness such as “sharing the bold stories of inspirational figures around them or dancing in their classrooms or workplace to bring joy to others” as videos, posts and songs. The brand has invited other bold and bold individuals—including a guzheng player Chang Jing and social activist Xu Can—to get featured in other four videos, which also became part of the campaignб which targeted at young adults, white collars. “‘Live Out Your Boldness” is a distinct and new attitude for the Nescafé brand so we needed a fresh approach to reach and engage a younger generation of coffee drinkers who are living their lives online. We’re excited to watch this campaign grow through the strong community of social media users in China,” commented Angel Chen, President of OgilvyOne, China. Nescafé’s competitor, Kraft Foods‘ Maxwell House, has also inspired the Chinese nation to be more active and reach their ambitious goals: the brand released a commercial starring a popular actress Wang Luodan—the ad tells a story of a modern Cinderella as a poor village girl turns into a business lady, a head of an international company.

“Despite their jobs in an international, professional environment, white-collar workers in China have private lives and media behaviors that are relatively devoid of participation or debate. Aggravating the situation is the Chinese government’s recent effort to curb ‘excessive entertainment’ on local television. With an ambitious, optimistic generation feeling stifled by limits on conversation and content, brands are realizing that associating with outspoken figures is an effective way to differentiate themselves,” says AdAge. So, featuring Han Han, who was named on the Time’s list of 100 Most Influential People in 2010, in the commercial is “a calculated risk for both the brand and the celebrity.” Hopefully, China will appreciate it.