Coca-Cola China’s iconic clay dolls get a makeover for CNY

Coca-Cola, in partnership with McCann Shanghai, has launched its annual Chinese New Year campaign, featuring evolved and refreshed versions of their iconic clay dolls, which have become synonymous with the annual celebration and the brand.“We’ve found our Chinese audience to be strongly empathetic towards these characters and their cultural significance for Chinese New Year, having been associated with Coca-Cola for nearly 17 years”, said Richard Cotton, head of creative excellence and content, Coca-Cola China.“They are Chinese New Year’s mischievous secret helpers and their characters reflect the spirit of the celebration, which is joyful and exuberant.”Last year’s Chinese New Year campaign saw Coca-Cola hit a record high in terms of volumes and brand love scores. For 2018, the clay dolls are depicted in scenarios that bring families together for genuine moments of happiness.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq9XDiEDXiU“Through storytelling, the clay dolls are presented in varying personal Chinese New Year moments showcasing emotional connection and family love,” said Cia Hatzi, chief client officer, McCann Worldgroup, APAC.In the TVC, the clay dolls’ adventurous actions help the family to connect by mischievously pulling the Coca-Cola glasses together for grandson and grandfather, connecting mum and dad by only leaving one glass between them, and creating a joyful event for the entire family.As part of the campaign, Coca-Cola and Alipay will leverage the SLAM AR technology to animate the clay dolls into real scenes so that viewers are able to feel the magic of the moment.The clay dolls will also come to life to greet users with tailor-made Chinese New Year messages, added Cotton.[gallery link="file" ids="211067,211066,211064,211063,211062,211061"]The campaign also continues the use of virtual red packets, which Coca-Cola launched on the Alipay platform last year, where consumers click to win real money – with amounts ranging from 0.1 to 99 RMB. Since its release two weeks ago, more than 6,600,000 red packets have been given away. This number is expected to rise leading up to Chinese New Year.The campaign depicts the clay dolls incorporated on packaging, TV, in-store, OOH, cinema and digital.Credits – McCann Shanghai: Coca-Cola Asia Pacific account head: Cia Hatzi Coca-Cola regional executive creative director: Nora Manjit Executive creative director: Michael Li Senior account director: Felicia How Senior account manager: Sophie Zhu Creative planner: Jay Caplan Senior art director: Alair Qu Copywriter: Yitian Yang Agency producer: Canossa Fong Tvc production house: Carrot Films Tvc post production house: MPC shanghai Tvc director: Yu Yong Kim Packaging design production house: MPC shanghai Digital agency: Isobar shanghai Media agency: Dentsu Aegis Media Shanghai