Breaking taboo: Documents x Greatroam’s twist on Qingming Festival

Overview Chinese luxury fragrance brand Documents has made a bold move by teaming up with local deathcare brand Greatroam to launch a unique fragrance product tailored for the Qingming (Tomb-sweeping) Festival – a ceramic censer shaped like a conch. The partners intend to help individuals confront mortality through inviting designs. Drawing inspiration from the auspicious symbolism and evocative imagery of the conch, the partners have crafted an incense burner that encapsulates memories and emotions associated with the festival. Netizens’ reactions The aesthetic of this partnership resonates with Documents’ signature concept of chanku (禅酷), translating to “bold Zen” in Mandarin, which strikes a chord with younger demographics. Users on Xiaohongshu have expressed admiration for this innovative collaboration, noting how the conch’s shape evokes childhood memories of the sound of ambient noise from the shell. Although the social buzz surrounding the product does not rival that of Documents’ fragrances, the unconventional product’s reception is largely positive. Verdict In China, Qingming Festival presents a peculiar and challenging marketing opportunity for brands. During the occasion, Chinese typically engage in activities such as tomb-sweeping, making offerings, and paying respects to departed loved ones. While festival-centric marketing endeavors have flourished, brands often give Qingming Festival a wide berth due to Chinese consumers' reticence to publicly commemorate their ancestors. Even for brands that do roll out activations relating to the festival, their efforts typically revolve around creative concepts evoking “clear air and bright scenery” (Qingming (清明) in Chinese means “clearness” and “brightness”) or “spring outings,” sidestepping discussions of death. Traditionally, burning incense to honor ancestors is a key ritual during Qingming Festival. However, within the confines of traditional Chinese etiquette, death is considered a taboo topic, seldom broached in public discourse. Documents and Greatroam’s collaboration seeks to challenge this norm by infusing the practice of incense burning with modern design aesthetics, destigmatizing funeral paraphernalia that was once deemed inauspicious and integrating the act of “commemorating the deceased” into everyday life as a natural ritual. Moreover, by unveiling such a thought-provoking product during Qingming Festival, the brands are encouraging individuals to confront and dispel fears and taboos surrounding, and fostering more open conversations about mortality. Through this collaboration, Documents and Greatroam offer a fresh perspective on Qingming narratives, interpreting shared emotions and cultural memories with a modern sensibility, thereby paving the way for alternative marketing approaches within this unique festival context.

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Breaking taboo: Documents x Greatroam’s twist on Qingming Festival