The gratuitous Lunar New Year product showcase

Lunar new year is an amazing time to reconnect with family. It's also a perfect excuse for brands to trot out their best red, gold and zodiac-animal specialty products. As the Year of the Rat approaches, we've rounded up just a small sampling of CNY-inspired brand offerings. Have a look, and enjoy, shop, or mock, as you prefer. 

1. Nescafe Gold X Christy Ng bag (Malaysia)

In the spirit to usher in the Lunar New Year, NESCAFÉ GOLD has unveiled its partnership with our homegrown shoe and bag designer, Christy Ng. This collaboration has brought together two brands from contrasting industries with a shared vision to create a memorable festive experience.

Normally coffee and nice bags are at odds. Sworn enemies, in fact. Isn't it nice to see them get along in the spirit of LNY?

2. Jo Malone London: English Pear & Freesier [sic] Chinese New Year Exclusive Bottle (Singapore)

The brand’s much-loved fruity scent captures the sensuous freshness of just-ripe pears, wrapped in a bouquet of white freesias. The perfect gift for the New Year.

Wrapping ripe pears in white freesias for CNY is a no-brainer. Imagine the audacity of those who would stoop to using red freesias!

3. Hennessy V.S.O.P. CNY 2020 Limited Edition (Hong Kong)

Just like the wishing lanterns, the art piece on “Hennessy V.S.O.P. CNY 2020 Limited Edition” with lacquered bottle sends wishes to all with joy and radiance.

Much like your uncle who has imbibed a little too much Hennessy at the family gathering.

4. DBS/POSB special red packets & CNY 'new note' ATMs (Singapore)

These uniquely designed red packets can be easily upcycled into decorative origami lanterns to liven up homes, or be reused for other special occasions such as weddings and birthdays.

Starting 9 January, DBS/POSB customers will be able to get new and good-as-new notes at 40 POSB pop-up ATMs across 20 community clubs islandwide. POSB remains the sole bank in Singapore to provide this service, now a mainstay of CNY. 

To ensure that our customers can focus on the things that matter, such as reunions and gatherings with families and friends, it is important that we provide seamless and accessible ‘phygital’ solutions which combine the familiarity of festive traditions and conveniences of digital technology.

Don't they mean 'festgital'? Let's make it a word. 

5. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Rat Edition

This special bottle of Blue Label features illustrations by artist Shirley Gong, reflecting the prosperity and abundance that the Rat's arrival signifies. 

However, it sort of looks like the hapless rodent has become trapped in the bottle and is deperately trying to escape. Come to think of it, drowning in whisky might not be a bad way to go.

6. Kate Spade Tom and Jerry Collection

It looks like the "Tom and Jerry Collection" would more accurately be called the "Jerry collection". Poor Tom. It's bad enough he has to get repeatedly outsmarted and violently assaulted by Jerry in the cartoons; now he loses out on merchandising royalties too, all because the Chinese Zodiac doesn't include a cat (and no, Tom doesn't qualify as a tiger, although we won't put it past Kate Spade and other brands that hold licensing rights to try).

7. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence

If you're going to put a mouse on your packaging for the Year of the Rat, you might as well get the world's best-known one. Wonder how much extra Disney charged to have Mickey pose as if he were applying lotion to his famous face. 

8. Tom Ford lipsticks

Clearly sparing no effort, the fashion label offers three of its best-selling lipstick shades in red and gold packaging. Speaking of shade, did we just throw some? 

9. Rag & Bone's Pizza Rat tribute

What could be more auspicious than finding free pizza, as the now-famous New York City rat commemorated on this sweater did back in 2015? The brand's amusing Lunar New Year 2020 collection includes T-shirts, sweaters, wool beanies and leather goods imprinted with Pizza Rat's image. Prices range from US$95 to US$425. If there's any justice, Pizza Rat gets a cut of that and blows it all on delicious NYC slices for himself and all his/her friends.

10. Ugg Lunar New Year Collection

The Year of the Sheep/Goat doesn't come around again until 2027, so Ugg has added mouse-like sheepskin ears to some of its existing products.

11. Lego's 'Lion Dance' and 'Chinese New Year Temple Fair' sets

The only way this could be cuter is if there were a video. Oh, wait. 

If you've seen any amazing Lunar New Year products—amazing in the good sense or the "wait, what?" sense—let us know by sending us Feedback or on Twitter @CampaignAsia.