MTR incorporates HK classic movie scenes into new ESG campaign

MTR has incorporated Hong Kong movie scenes into a new campaign featuring local actors Eric Tsui and Peter Chan to tell a ESG story in a fun way to engage the audiences. The campaign aims to promote the fact that MTR is working diligently on green initiatives to contribute to the fight against climate change and share the latest ESG solutions that help keep Hong Kong moving sustainably.

Done in collaboration with media agency Mindshare Hong Kong and creative agency RDS Digital, MTR re-made the unforgettable scenes by derivating the timeless lines of best-known scenes from Hong Kong classic movies, including "From Beijing with Love (國產凌凌漆)". Within the videos, Chan was featured as Stephen Chow, who originally starred as a hawker-secret-agent 007, and was sent to Hong Kong by a high-ranking government official to recapture the cranium. Meanwhile, Tsui was featured as Lee Heung Kam, who acted as a subordinate of government official Golden Gun.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, MTR's spokesperson said the campaign is running until end of March and it targets youngsters. Tsui and Chan were selected based on their charming mix of traits, with years of hard work in their own respective fields combined with their willingness to push beyond limits. They were also chosen to deliver the campaign's green messages to public in a humorous manner, according to the release. 

The first video, “Bring Your Own Bottle 007”, aims to remind everyone to always bring a reusable water bottle while highlighting the green value of water dispensers at 18 MTR stations, which managed to save over one million plastic beverage bottles which would have gone to landfills otherwise.

The second video, “Eternal Solar Affairs, articulates MTR’s efforts in installing renewable energy system with extensive coverage of solar panels. The last video will be released soon, sharing tips on low-carbon living.

In terms of medium of promotion, strategic use of fun video content is used to create a viral social media campaign. In addition to leveraging MTR's owned social media channels and the social media presence of two celebrities, MTR also worked with movie critics, entertainment pages, and on-target media placements to extend the reach of the messaging to a wider audience. This approach helped the brand achieve its marketing objectives and capture the attention of its target audience in an engaging and compelling manner.

Karen Woo, general manager, branding and communications of MTR Corporation, said: “By turning ESG from information to info-tainment, the campaign aims to enhance familiarity to lure audience to stay longer to watch and remember better the interesting content, thus encourage audience to take their first leap to understand what really ESG is through secondary-creation.”

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