Loewe bikes, LV ship: Top 6 China marketing campaigns of 2025

The cooling global economy, coupled with cautious consumer spending and surging cultural confidence in China, has rendered traditional marketing playbooks obsolete. A clear divide is emerging: brands that cling to the past are losing relevance, while those that break free are beginning to write a new chapter. The challenge lies in moving beyond generating buzz to boosting retention — earning loyalty through meaningful connection rather than reach alone. A few brands have managed this with conviction. Below, Jing Daily examines six marketing campaigns to reveal how luxury brands are finding growth in this new era. Loewe teams up with Hello Bike for citywide “golden ride” From February 21 to March 6, Loewe partnered with Hello Bike on a limited “Golden Ride” activation to build anticipation for the opening of its Shanghai Casa Loewe flagship. Gold-painted shared bicycles appeared across Shanghai, bookable via the Hello app. Riders who completed a three-kilometer route earned a digital badge, redeemable for a Loewe lookbook and a complimentary coffee. What might have been a routine commute turned into a mini urban treasure hunt, embedding the brand into playful, everyday moments. The cleverness of the idea lay in its choice of medium. By using shared bicycles — one of the city’s most public, visible, and participatory forms of infrastructure — Loewe amplified the store opening in a way that felt native to Shanghai, a city with a long cycling tradition. The new Casa Loewe, known for its distinctive gold-ceramic-tiled façade, extended this motif onto the bikes themselves, effectively transforming a static landmark into a moving one. The journey — from reserving a bike online, to tracking it down on the street, to completing the ride and receiving a tangible reward — mirrored the exploratory, social instincts of Gen Z users. Through these small rituals of search and discovery, the activation transformed a single store opening into an immersive, shareable moment. Prada opens first standalone dining destination in Asia On March 31, Prada Group unveiled Mi Shang Prada Rong Zhai, its first independent dining space in Asia. Located on the second floor of Prada Rong Zhai in Shanghai, the restaurant blends Italian and Chinese culinary traditions, using food as a medium to articulate a distinctly Prada sensibility. For Prada, Rong Zhai is more than a historic building; it is a cultural landmark that conveys the brand’s contemporary narrative and aesthetic. Through initiatives like the educational public program “Sea Beyond at Prada Rong Zhai” and exhibitions like “A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings for Cinema,” Prada engages the public in meaningful dialogue and weaves itself deeper into the city’s cultural fabric. Adidas and Tsinghua University strike an unlikely cultural nerve On April 22, a limited-edition collaboration between Adidas and Tsinghua University went on sale exclusively at Tsinghua Impression, the campus’s cultural goods store. The collection, which spanned T-shirts, caps, waist packs, and backpacks, was priced from 129 RMB to 899 RMB ($18 to $128). Adidas’ signature three stripes were paired with Tsinghua’s iconic purple shade and university crest, balancing athletic design with institutional symbolism. Within a day, several items had sold out. The collaboration exemplified campus-based cultural immersion. As one of China’s most prestigious universities, Tsinghua carries influence that extends far beyond academia, embodying aspiration as much as achievement. The partnership activated a strong sense of identity among students and alumni, while the high-contrast pairing of an elite institution with a global sportswear brand drew in a broader audience. As such, Adidas entered the campus context with ease, deepening its emotional connection with younger consumers through familiarity rather than spectacle. Giant Louis Vuitton ship sparks Shanghai’s imagination On June 25, Louis Vuitton unveiled a monumental ship-shaped structure titled The Louis on Nanjing West Road, at the main entrance of HKRI Taikoo Hui. Spanning roughly 1,600 square meters across three levels, the project brings exhibition space, retail, and dining under one roof. Clad in metallic Monogram motifs, with a lavish deck and a tiered upper structure recalling the house’s iconic trunks, it gives physical form to Louis Vuitton’s century-old travel ethos, fusing brand mythology with the language of the city. The ship has since become one of Shanghai’s most visible landmarks. It dominates social media feeds, attracts overseas visitors who come specifically to see it, and has significantly boosted foot traffic in the surrounding commercial district. On Xiaohongshu alone, related posts have amassed nearly 30 million views. Expected to run for multiple years, the structure has turned brand architecture into a powerful engine of urban attention. “The Tiger” brings Gucci back into the spotlight As industry attention focused on Milan Fashion Week in September 2025, Gucci made headlines by not showing at all. In place of a traditional runway, the Italian house released a narrative short film titled The Tiger. The absence was deliberate. Rather than retreat, Gucci opted for a controlled quiet, using cinema to pull viewers away from the noise of the show circuit and into a more focused, immersive experience. In the film, actors appear in looks from La Famiglia, the first collection under creative director Demna. The designs lean unapologetically into sensuality, opulence, and boldness, reigniting the drama and visual intensity long central to Gucci’s identity. The strategy extended beyond the screen. At the film’s premiere, Demi Moore, Edward Norton, Ed Harris, and Kendall Jenner stepped onto the red carpet in the same La Famiglia looks, translating the film’s aesthetic into a live spectacle. Released alongside the short, the collection utilized a see-now-buy-now model, collapsing the distance between narrative and transaction. By coupling cinematic storytelling with immediate commerce, Gucci turned fleeting attention into action. Apple enters fashion with Issey Miyake On November 11, Apple unveiled iPhone Pocket, a phone accessory created in collaboration with Japanese designer label Issey Miyake, marking its latest foray into elevated lifestyle. What set off wider conversation, however, was not the design but the price. Retailing between 1,299 RMB and 1,899 RMB ($185 and $270), the accessory was quickly dubbed “the most expensive sock for an iPhone,” becoming the collaboration’s defining meme. Utility debates aside, Apple once again demonstrated its ability to turn controversy into visibility. What stood out even more was the brand’s speed in aligning with the Chinese market. From joining Douyin in August to CEO Tim Cook’s high-profile appearance in a Douyin livestream in October, Apple moved with what might be called “China speed,” completing a full arc from platform entry to executive endorsement in a matter of weeks. The sequence highlighted the company’s growing flexibility in adapting to local rules of engagement. Taken together, these cases point to a broader shift. What sets luxury brands apart today is not their products but their narrative elasticity — the ability to move with the moment, absorb disruption, and fold change into the brand story itself. In an era of constant flux, that capacity for adaptation has become the true marker of endurance and leadership.

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Loewe bikes, LV ship: Top 6 China marketing campaigns of 2025