In early January, Alibaba’s B2C commerce marketplace Tmall released a Lunar New Year holiday advertisement that was also a nod to the LGBT community in China. The short clip starts with a young man bringing another man home for the new year, and introduces him to the family as Kelvin. Later during dinner, the father hands Kelvin a bowl of food. The ad closes with a surprise reveal as Kelvin responds to the father by saying ‘Thanks, Dad.” – the way married couples address their in-laws.
We aren’t featuring this holiday ad just because we’re in the Lunar New Year mood (especially in the Singapore office!), but because it packs two key takeaways for you:
Campaigning with empathy. The holidays are for celebrations, but the festivities can be harder for certain groups of people. Same-sex couples can find reunion dinners especially painful if they aren’t able to bring their partners home to meet the family. This Tmall advertisement elegantly gives a nod of recognition to the LGBTQ community in China, and sends the message that this holiday season should truly be for all. This sensitivity to the challenges of a holiday reminds us of UK florist Bloom and Wild allowing customers to opt out of Mothers’ Day emails for personal reasons. The next time a major event rolls around, are there opportunities for your brand to recognize oft-ignored groups and acknowledge their pain points?
Take a brand stand. China decriminalized same-sex relationships in the 1990s, but the topic remains taboo and discussions are regularly censored by the government. This holiday ad manages to sneak in a representation of the LGBTQ community without explicitly lobbying for gay rights. Though, as we discussed in our trend LEGISLATIVE BRANDS, progressive consumers will embrace brands that lobby for change when the establishment fails. Ask your team – how can your brand take a stand for the values important to you and your customers, and positively challenge the status quo to realize better societies?
For all our readers celebrating the Lunar New Year, we hope you have a great time with family and loved ones, filled with feasts and fireworks and festive hongbaos! Here’s wishing everybody a happy and prosperous Year of the Rat! 🍊🍊🍊
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