A Tiger Beer Chinese New Year
There are 9 carps in the image as 9 has always been a lucky number in Chinese culture. It’s the noblest number of all as it was historically associated with the Emperor. It is also a homophone of the word for “long lasting” (ä¹…). And fish(éš) is pronounced the same way as “extra” (餘), therefore “年年有éš(餘)”, literally translated to fish every year, is often used to wish for plentiful years ahead.
Chinese New Year is a time of fun, When Tiger suggested putting 8 hidden horses in the image, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Furthermore, 8 horses symbolize a prosperous 2014 (Year of The Horse). 8 is yet another lucky number in Chinese culture.It shares a similar sound as 發(fortune). If you visit China, you will see many rich people’s car plate being 88888. So…any luck spotting out all the horses?
3 months is a long long time compare to the usual editorial deadline which I am used to. The process is also a lot more meticulous. I am the type who like to have loose sketches and go with the flow with my finals, but I learnt that would give advertisement clients heart attacks. The color palette, number+ sizes of lanterns, peach blossom, carps, fashion, ethnicities. etc were planned starting from the sketch stage.
One of the best thing I took away from this job was the sense of teamwork. I play solo for most of my assignments. This time I got to work very closely with ROTHCO, especially my art director Dylan Davies and project manager Jessica Derby. Because of the rush deadline and time differences among me (NY), the agency(Dublin) and the client (Singapore), we often had to work late into the nights together. They shared my excitement and frustration, they give insightful suggestions and help me with many challenges along the way. Also my rep Gail Gaynin, who is not only the business warrior but also an amazing emotional support.
This ad campaign is described as “daring”, “inventive” and “fresh” in the article ”5 Brands that got Chinese New Year Marketing Right" by Marketing-Interactive.com, I think my ace team deserves a big round of applause.
Thank you so much Robin Yoong from Ogilvy Singapore, Peilin Lee and Tai Yun fromAsian Pacific Breweries Limited and all my followers (Prudence, Christina, Teo.Aikcher, James, Erwin, Seetoh, Sandy, Twu, Benjamin, Yan) for sending me the photos so I can see the image coming to life!
Happy Chinese New Year Y’all!
