Love is in the air (and marketing): Qixi festival's biggest brand moments

Featuring a slogan of ‘love him/her to send him/her better gifts’, the campaign emphasises quality of life and better brand experience. 

Unlike other collaborations, Philips and Wedgewood's limited edition gift box brings a deeper understanding and meaning to the home appliance and lifestyle category. It is not just a cost-effective gift but a perfect match and timing for love and target audience groups before Chinese Valentine’s Day. 

From a marketing perspective, OMD orchestrated a comprehensive integrated marketing strategy for Philips. Initially, the official platform set the stage with two celebrities, Wang Dalu and Chen Yao. Subsequently, numerous KOLs collaborated on major social media platforms to generate buzz and advocate for the gift box, fostering a desire for a superior lifestyle. Simultaneously, an offline pop-up store called ‘The Best Museum’ was launched, guiding users and celebrities to join and share their experiences.

2. Chow Tai Fook 

Chow Tai Fook's deleted Weibo posts

Leading jewelry brand Chow Tai Fook faced a PR crisis in the lead-up to Qixi Festival, forced to pull a Weibo campaign featuring KOL and TV anchor Du Haitao. Chinese netizens were quick to criticise Du's involvement, citing his controversial personal life and marriage to another high-profile anchor.

The misstep highlights the critical need for brand-ambassador alignment and strategic timing. Featuring a comedian repeatedly called out for his questionable views on love and marriage, mere days before a festival celebrating romance, was a recipe for disaster. This miscalculation ignited backlash, risking not only brand image but also sparking a potential consumer boycott.

2. Loewe

Loewe Qixi Collection

Loewe’s latest video campaign ‘ A Tale of Catching Stars’ incorporates elements of papercutting, traditional Chinese folk art, and retro Chinese animation. This effectively mirrors the nostalgic recollections of China’s Generation X and pays homage to the vibrant cultural history of China from the 1960s through the 1980s. The video’s emphasis on traditional and localised craftsmanship resonates with Loewe’s commitment to promoting and endorsing the culture of global crafts. 

The story is about a young hedgehog who pursues his lover and ends up attempting to pick up stars for her. The tale of ‘The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl’, who were initially unable to meet, ultimately touched the Queen Mother with their genuine love, granting them the chance to reunite just once a year on the lunar calendar day of July 7th. This isn’t just a sweet love story, but rather, it leaves a sense of hard-earned romance. Loewe also designed the symbolic love story into a special collection of handbags unveiled in time for the festive shopping season.

4. Perfect Diary × The Little Prince

The C-beauty brand, Perfect Diary, has done more than just introduce a collaboration with The Little Prince. It has also invited consumers to share their personal love stories related to The Little Prince. By tapping into emotions and offering a more personalised brand experience centred around love, Perfect Diary has managed to resonate with the younger Chinese generation, enabling the brand to carve out a unique space for itself, still lacking novelty in a sea of other The Little Prince collections in the market.