Love beyond words: Roundup of Father’s Day campaigns in Hong Kong

This year's Father's Day saw Hongkongers flock to the city's harbourfront to watch paddlers compete in the second day of International Dragon Boat Races, which featured 17 races with more than 170 teams comprising over 4,000 athletes from 12 countries and regions.

Meanwhile, citizens also spent the day with their fathers at hotels and restaurants as local eateries rolled out special food and beverage discounts or offers on the special day.

F&B brands in Hong Kong also went out of the box to create campaigns that showcased dads' implicit ways of expressing love, such as Sushiro, Nabe Urawa, amongst others.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the creative campaigns from Hong Kong brands that MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has rounded up this Father’s Day.

1. Crystal Jade

Similarly, Chinese F&B group Crystal Jade has introduced a Mother and Father's Day char siew promotion that called for parents to recite a Cantonese phrase, "saang gau caa siu hou gwo saang nei" (It’s better to give birth to a piece of char siew than to give birth to you), to their child in front of a staff member of the restaurant.

Parents who did so would receive a free plate of roasted honey barbecue pork. The promotion started on 4 May and ran on 8, 9, 15 and 16 June at Crystal Jade Hong Kong Kitchen and La Mian Xiao Long Bao outlets.

In a promotional video for the deal, a mother is sitting with her daughter in a Crystal Jade restaurant and chiding her for not picking up her calls, coming home late and using the house "as a hotel".  

"Giving birth to char siew [is] better than you," the mother in the video says. "At least char siew is nice to eat."

Even though promotion gained mixed reactions from audiences, it did garner popularities across social media. A spokesperson from Crystal Jade told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that its intention was to bring a touch of lightheartedness to the Mother’s and Father’s Day weekends with a campaign that references a common Cantonese saying parents use to express exasperation over their children.

2. 7-ELEVEN Hong Kong

In celebration of this year's Father's Day, 7-ELEVEN Hong Kong unveiled a social campaign featuring coffee characters Gullu Gullu elves (咖啡精靈) of its own coffee brand 7 Café to honour fathers in a creative and engaging manner. The campaign seeks to connect with the audience through the use of 7CAFÉ coffee characters and witty puns, fostering a sense of warmth and joy around the theme of fatherhood.

Within the post, the two characters had a conversation revolving around fathers, with one asking what a father looks like, and the other elve saying it will know after decades.

The post also comes with a pun: “You are a coffee bean (咖啡豆), when you get old, you will turn into a father (老豆).”

In terms of marketing strategies, 7-ELEVEN leveraged the popularity of the Gullu Gullu characters from 7CAFÉ to create relatable and heartwarming content centred around fathers. The use of puns and humour in the social post aims to resonate with the audience and drive engagement on social media platforms like Instagram.

A spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE this campaign strategically leverages its local roots to connect with the Hong Kong audience in a meaningful way. By incorporating coffee-themed characters and puns that resonate with the local culture and language, 7-ELEVEN Hong Kong demonstrates its understanding of and connection to the community. The clever use of the pun on "coffee bean" transforming into "father" not only adds a humorous touch but also showcases the brand's ability to infuse local references into its messaging.

This approach not only differentiates the campaign from traditional Father's Day promotions but also strengthens the brand's bond with the local audience by presenting a relatable and culturally relevant narrative. By embracing its local identity and creatively weaving it into the campaign, 7-ELEVEN Hong Kong effectively captures the hearts of its customers and reinforces its position as a brand that truly understands and celebrates the unique nuances of Hong Kong culture.

A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw the post garner more than 400 likes on Instagram.

3. Lalamove

Lalamove launched its latest regional branding campaign “Heroes Behind the Wheel” honouring the unsung heroes - its driver partners.

Coinciding with Father's Day celebrations, the campaign comes with "Deliver Care - Driving Dreams Competition" which invites children of Lalamove driver partners to create drawings depicting their loved ones. The competition will be rolled out across different markets, while the enrollment in Hong Kong will start from 17 June 2024.

Quincy Yip, director, customer experience and marketing, Lalamove, said: "Behind every Lalamove delivery, there is a story of connection and empowerment. Our driver partners are the heroes who make it possible, helping SMEs to grow and thrive, while earning to support their families and personal goals. This campaign is our way of highlighting their important contributions and reinforcing our appreciation for their partnership with Lalamove."

4. Nabe Urawa

Nabe Urawa, a brand offers Japanese hotpot and sukiyaki, unveiled a social media campaign this Father’s Day, showcasing how fathers express their unconditional love to their families implicitly.

Also known as “I have a warm date with my dad” (我同父親有個溫馨約會), the campaign features text messages between a customer and his dad, of which the father only replies with simple emojis to the customer's requests such as borrowing money and giving him a lift to the airport.

At last, the customer said he would treat his dad to a meal at Nabe Urawa, with a simple reply from his dad - a thumbs up. As part of the campaign, a special game was created for consumers to share their warm moments with dads.

Meanwhile, Nabe Urawa unveiled another campaign “Record this Moment” (記錄温馨一刻) to encourage Hongkongers to express their gratitude and love to their fathers through actions instead of words.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Taste Gourmet Group for more information.

5. Standard Chartered Hong Kong

In response to the popularity of its educational campaign “Anti-Fraud Restaurant” (防騙大查樓) launched in May, Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong decided to extend the campaign for 14 more days until this year's Father’s Day.

Also known as “Anti-fraud restaurant” (防騙大查樓), the campaign is done in collaboration with creative agency Secret Tour Hong Kong and PR agency Vane Communications. It aimed to educate the public, especially the elderly, on methods of protection against common scam tactics such as phishing SMS, scammers impersonating celebrities or staff from law enforcement, and investment fraud calls. 

The dim sum eatery called 龍點心 in Wan Chai, has been transformed into the “Anti-fraud restaurant” which serves a selection of unique, anti-fraud-themed dim sum dishes from 25 May to 2 June. These dishes include "Can't tell truth from dumpling" (難分真與餃), "Youngster telephone congee" (小鮮肉電話粥), "Click random links, that's trouble" (亂㩒link就棗糕), "Greed is like a cow's desire" (貪念牛慾求) and "Private password cake" (私人密碼拉糕). 

According to StanChart HK’s social media platforms, audiences have presented enthusiastic responses towards the educational campaign and wished to bring their parents to the restaurant.

The extension of campaign due to Father’s Day aimed appeal young people to bring their elderly parents to the restaurant and learn how to prevent fraud.

6. Sushiro

Sushi chain Sushiro has unveiled a social media campaign this Father's Day featuring the introverted image of fathers. Its Instagram post features a girl taking her parents and her boyfriend to have a meal at Sushiro.

While her boyfriend expresses his love for the shrimp sushi, her dad consumes all the shrimps ordered and her boyfriend is worried that her dad does not like him. At the end, the girl orders more shrimp sushi so that everyone can enjoy their favourite dishes.

The post also comes with a caption: “My father is an introvert. If anyone’s dad is similar to mine, since today is Father’s Day, remember to order more sushi he likes for your dad."

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Sushiro for more information.

Join us this coming 26 June for Content360 Hong Kong, a one-day-two-streams extravaganza under the theme of "Content that captivates". Get together with our fellow marketers to learn about AI in content creation, integration of content with commerce and cross-border targeting, and find the recipe for success within the content marketing world! 

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