What happened
The 30-episode series Blossoms Shanghai (繁花), which depicts Shanghai in the early 1990s during a period of economic reform and was directed by renowned film director Wong Kar-wai, has generated widespread online discussion since it was released on December 27.
On Douyin, the hashtag #BlossomsShanghai has garnered over 8.3 billion views to date, and on Xiaohongshu there are more than 2 million related posts. Additionally, tourists and residents are flocking to the restaurants on Shanghai’s Huanghe Road that appeared in the series.
It’s been a while since a Chinese drama has generated this level of audience interest in a period or place. For consumer-facing brands, the show presented a rare opportunity to gain visibility and traffic among a wider audience.
Two beauty brands that took up that opportunity to advertise their products in the series are global giant Estée Lauder and long-standing Shanghai-based skin care brand Pechoin.
The Jing Take
Estee Lauder-owned brands and products first appeared in earlier episodes of the show via shrewd product placement. In one scene, a waiter at Zhi Zhen Yuan (至真园) restaurant named Min Min, showed off her first ‘big brand’ purchase — an Estée Lauder lipstick — to her colleagues.
Meanwhile, Pechoin sponsored the second half of the show, also appearing in the form of product placement, for instance an advertisement starring actor and dancer Wang Yibo or the actors of the play. Although this product placement was less sophisticated than Estée Lauder’s, Pechoin’s Shanghai roots aligned well with the plot.
Founded in the 1930s, Pechoin is a skincare brand highly praised by Shanghainese celebrities, such as Ruan Lingyu, Zhou Xuan, and Hu Die. The label has also been granted the “China famous trademark” and “Shanghai famous trademark” marks of recognition.
However, with foreign cosmetics entering China at the end of the 20th century, the company started to lose appeal to international names.
At the beginning of 2000, the business was restructured into a private enterprise to respond more flexibly to market demands. It ventured into e-commerce in the early 2010s before the global giants did. As a result, Pechoin topped Taobao’s Singles’ Day beauty sales rankings from 2015 to 2017.
Yet, with both local up-and-coming and international rivals competing in the crowded online space, Pechoin has once again come under pressure.
Blossoms Shanghai presented a great nostalgia marketing opportunity for the brand, but it must consolidate this traffic to avoid being overshadowed by competitors.
The 'Jing Take' reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.