Spring Valentine's Day in China

In China New Year is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar and known as “Spring Festival”. It is obviously the most important traditional Chinese holiday and the most important family event of the year. By tradition, this holiday should be celebrated together with the whole family, that’s why every Chinese, working or living outside hometown should reunite with his family members during the Spring Festival. That’s why during the New Year celebration week, it’s rather hard to get tickets for all kinds of long-distance transport. Spring Festival is a great opportunity to get additional revenue not only for transport companies, but also for all other companies offering their products and services.

In China they usually give so called “hong bao” as a gift, which is a sum of money in a beautiful red envelop. This year an unusual overlap in timing, that happens just once every 50 years, united the beginning of the week-long Chinese New Year celebration and Valentine's Day. The last one is not supposed to be a traditional Chinese holiday. However, there is nothing to prevent it's becoming increasingly popular among young people. These two important holidays so rarely coincided gave an additional opportunity to companies to get hooked the youngsters who they aim. And Gillette was most successful, launching “Moments” campaign mixed the ideas of family values, reunion and love together. And despite the fact that Gillette ads usually have sexual or sporting shade, this set of ads makes traditional family values are highlighted.  

Playing on desires of young men to be attractive and successful in the eyes of their family, of opposite sex and friends, Gillette launched series of advertisements, where smooth clean shave gives men an opportunity to become assured and goal-achieving.

The campaign features a 60-second spot starring Olympic gold-medal badminton star Lin Dan. It is a touching love story where young girl, walking down the street, is thinking: «Today is a Spring Festival and a St. Valentine’s Day… What I mean for him? Am I just a beloved person or a family member?» For that exact moment, at his home her boyfriend is standing by the mirror, irresolutely twiddling a box with wedding ring in his hand, asking himself «Have I prepared everything right?» Then he touches his chin and decides to shave. The next scene he is already rushing to meet his sweetheart. Hugging her, he puts a ring to her finger, and pronounces: «I'd like that we become a family».

 In this advertisement Gillette stakes on desire of young men to be attractive and successful, because young men of this age are either looking for a job or have just found it.

Besides, there are personal reasons at that: the Chinese one-child policy caused a great sexual disbalance in the population of China. Especially, it concerns young people who were born in 80’s. That’s why finding worthy girlfriend is considered to be a great achievement for a Chinese man. And Gillette Company had been quite artful in catching these moods, which allowed them to create a very successful advertisement that has already become popular and beloved by millions of people.