Sunkist taps into traditional Chinese medicine in new campaign

Sunkist Growers has tapped into the world of  traditional Chinese medicine to showcase the benefits of California-grown citrus in its latest campaign.  

This comes as the brand hopes to adapt to the growing concerns of wellbeing and how people are starting to look back at ancient Eastern methodologies in a quest to balance their “qi” energy. 

Done in partnership with creative agency Edelman Hong Kong, Sunkist saw an opportunity to show HongKongers how citrus can help with their wellbeing, while preserving some of the region’s oldest traditional Chinese medicine recipes.  

Within the video ad, the brand has moved away from the familiar stories of Vitamin C, and introduced the "Sunkist Citric Essence", a qi balancing formula, and launched a platform for people to share and preserve their own unique recipes, thereby educating HongKongers on the health benefits of the Sunkist Navel orange in the world of traditional Chinese medicine.  

The video ad also features local Chinese medicine practitioner Winson Poon, who helps to develop this new elixir. Poon explained in the video that this concoction has been designed to battle a modern-day issue in Hong Kong: the ‘seasonal slump’, a weariness and lowering of energy caused by the city’s humidity and constant changes in pressure and temperature, as people move between the airconditioned indoors and the warm outdoors. 

This seasonal campaign sees the formula being distributed around the city through a series of trials and sampling events with the public and local influencers; livestream Q&As on social media platforms; a series of traditional Chinese medicine recipes from Poon. 

To engage a wider audience, the campaign is also promoted via Chefluencer partnerships and an online platform that allows people to share their own family recipes that have been passed down for generations. 

“As we partner with Sunkist to celebrate its 130th anniversary, we are taking inspiration from generations-old traditional Chinese herbology and adding a California-grown orange twist to it – maximising the flavourful experience and health benefits our citrus brings to the table,” said John Koay, regional executive creative director at Edelman.  

“Wellness is a big trend in Hong Kong, and traditional Chinese herbology should be at the centre of this. Applying our ancient profession to more modern needs is a way to keep our profession relevant to young HongKongers,” said Winson Poon.  

Poon added that oranges, when paired with the right ingredients, can regulate qi-flow to remove dampness from the body and aid digestion.  

“Inspired by traditional folk wisdom and modernised Chinese medicinal knowledge, we are reimagining the California-grown orange, unlocking its full benefits for Hong Kongers to combat the hustle and bustle of the city,” he added. 

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

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