Trending in China: People Are Wild for Tissot Brand Ambassador Liu Yifei’s Badminton Photos

Tissot Brand Ambassador Liu Yifei Releases Photos of Badminton Game with Girlfriends
Liu Yifei, the brand ambassador for luxury watch brand Tissot, posted several photos of herself playing badminton with friends at what looks like a high school campus sports field this weekend. The photos show the Chinese actress in a white T-shirt and black Nike leggings during a badminton game and also posing with girlfriends in group selfies. Some speculate that the photos, which were posted on Liu’s official Weibo account, were released to refute an earlier rumor that the actress was pregnant. But they could just be promotional since Liu’s latest film, the costume drama “Once Upon A Time,” is opening in mid-August. The Weibo post is currently trending with over 200,000 views.

Weibo Comment: “She looks great. Looking forward to her new movie.”

Photo: Liu Yifei/Weibo

 

Photo: Nars/Weibo

Nars to Open First Retail Location in Shanghai Raffles City Mall
Luxury beauty brand Nars announced today that the first Chinese city to get a Nars store would be Shanghai. The Japanese-inspired brand was in waves of PR turmoil over the past month for its decision to kowtow to China’s animal testing requirement. Despite backlash and protests in the United States, Nars decided to enter the Chinese luxury beauty market regardless. Chinese makeup lovers are thrilled to learn the news and are urging the brand to open more stores in the country.

Weibo Comment: “Yayyy! No more having to ask my friends to smuggle Nars from abroad.”

Photo: Luhan/Weibo

Lu Han’s Weibo Campaign
Lu Han, the latest brand ambassador of French luxury skin care company L’Occitane, launched a social media campaign on Weibo in partnership with “King of Glory,” a popular mobile game with more than 50 million active players that also hosts one of the major livestreaming platforms in China. The campaign, led by the hashtag #Lu Han Sports Season#, encouraged Lu’s followers and fans to spread the campaign by sharing their summer sports activity using the hashtag. It also calls for users to scan a QR code to enter a special platform on Weibo that also acts as a step-counting app. The step counts that campaign participants collect from using the platform can be converted into virtual currency used in the game. That’s a creative and original touch for a social media campaign. Currently, the hashtag has been used more than 400,000 times.

Weibo Comment: “No sports or exercise for lazy me this summer. But I’d be happy to watch you play.”

JD Launches “818 Cell Phone Festival” Today
The prominent e-commerce site JD.com launched a shopping festival today, selling mobile devices from more than 30 different imported and domestic brands at discounted prices through the first three weeks of August. The lowest selling price of a cell phone during the promotion is said to be 8.18 yuan ($1.22), hence the name of the festival. The event, which is in effect today also serves as a launch campaign for more than 10 new smart phone models. The brands participating in the event include household names such as iPhone, Nokia, OPPO and Huawei, as well as lesser-known brands such as Nubia and Vivo.

Weibo Comment: “I’m concerned that brands might be selling open-box or refurbished phones during these types of sales.”

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