On October 15th, Oreo, together with its brand ambassador Jay Chou, launched a music video titled “笑奥江湖, 玩心无极” (Laugh proudly at the world, keep a heart of innocence). Oreo linked the color of its classic cookies with the black and white in the traditional Chinese ink paintings.
Oreo and Jay Chou’s ink art blockbuster landed Oreo’s official Weibo page over 40,000 retweets. In addition, from October 15th to October 28th, customers enjoyed these Oreo-themed ink art displays at metro stations in downtown Hangzhou.
Source: Official Weibo of Oreo. Customers enjoy this creative and aesthetic campaign of Oreo.
While Oreo’s most iconic product is sandwich cookies made up of black wafers and white filling, the classic Chinese art of ink painting, an art made up of only black ink and white space, matches its color scheme. To this end, Oreo used traditional Chinese ink as artistic vehicle for the entire film, creating a subtle link between the brand and Chinese culture.
Source: Weibo. The color of Oreo’s cookies resembles classic Chinese ink art.
Jay Chou dressed up in a traditional Chinese custom and plays the guqin, plays traditional chess with a young girl, and enjoys a Chinese calligraphy performance – and the circular motifs of musical notes, chess pieces, and calligraphy stamps are all filled in with an Oreo cookie.
Jay Chou helps Oreo tap into nostalgia marketing
In addition to the clever cultural connection, Oreo’s ambassador for this campaign, Jay Chou, was also one of the keys to their success. The famous Chinese singer has a broad fan base of his own, for which his appearance in this campaign video brought a considerable amount of popularity to Oreo.
Source: Weibo. Jay Chou serves as the brand ambassador of Oreo.
More importantly, Jay Chou has long been known for his blend of pop and traditional Chinese culture. Oreo chose three of Jay Chou’s most famous Chinese songs, ‘Blue and White Porcelain’ (青花瓷), ‘Hair Like Snow’ (发如雪), and ‘Orchid Pavillion’ (兰亭序), as the background music for the film. The music not only fits perfectly with the theme of ink art but also evokes nostalgia of these classic national-style pieces in customers. From the music to the visuals to the campaign’s content, Oreo is loyal to presenting the most classic and local Chinese culture.
Source: Weibo. The lyrics of Jay Chou’s hit national-style song, Blue and White Porcelain, are presented on the poster.
Finally, in their campaign title, Oreo used a clever play on words, borrowing the title of the classic Chinese martial arts novel “笑傲江湖” (Laughing at the World) and transforming it into “笑奥江湖” (“奥” is part of “奥利奥”, the name of Oreo in Chinese). By blending its brand with these classic elements, Oreo has incorporated Chinese consumers’ emotional connection and childhood memories into this small black and white cookie.
Author: Sherri Zhang
