Skincare brand SK-II takes on marriage pressure on young women in China in new campaign
A film from skincare brand SK-II called ‘Meet Me Halfway’ addresses the pressure to get married faced by young Chinese women from society at large and their parents in particular.
Created by Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore, the film is part of the ongoing #changedestiny campaign on SKII. It mines similar territory to previous advertising for the brand in the region with campaigns like ‘The Expiry Date’ and ‘Marriage Market‘. This time around, the commercial ties back to Chinese New Year.
It features three women who reach out to their parents after years of avoiding the trip back home for Chinese New Year, since they do not want to be pressured into getting married.
Instead, the parents and their daughters agree to meet at a halfway point from their homes, a metaphor for finding common ground and compromise.
The girls and their families were selected after meetings with several women facing such a predicament according to the agency. Forsman & Bodenfors art director John Bergdahl said: “We felt real women and their parents had stories that would hopefully inspire others to take the first step.”
Speaking about why the team opted for such a creative execution, Forsman & Bondenfors copywriter Joakim Labraaten said: “We wanted to build on our previous work.
“As the culture and attitudes slowly change in China, we saw an opportunity to not simply shed light on this tension – but to provide some hope, some sort of call to action.”
Global marketing director of SK-II Kylene Campos added: “Brands may approach women empowerment campaigns as a one-off, resulting in efforts appearing inauthentic.
“This creates the impression that the problem is solved after just one campaign. The reality is the issue will not go away anytime soon.
“For the past few years, SK-II has been committed to tackling the specific area of age and marriage pressure as we know this matters the most to our target consumer.
#ChangeDestiny was created as a platform to address this and empower women with the courage to break barriers and overcome limitations.
“There is still so much more to do and this is just the beginning.”
Speaking about the campaign, SK-II’s vice president global Sandeep Seth said: “We want to tell women worldwide: Destiny can change, when you have the courage to take the first step to meet halfway.
“We hope the stories of these three brave women can inspire other women to take the first step, start a conversation with their families about marriage pressure and in the process, empower them to live life on their own terms and shape their own destinies.”
According to SK-II, the campaign has been very well received with 16 million views and lively discussion on Chinese social media like Weibo and Wechat.
Credits:
Client: SK-II
VP of SK-II: Sandeep Seth
Global marketing director of SK-II: Kylene Campos
Creative Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore
Account supervisors: Susanna Fagring, My Troedsson, Abbe Hale
Account managers: Hongi Luo, Patrik Danroth
Art director: John Bergdahl
Copywriter: Joakim Labraaten
PR-strategist: Amat Levin
Designer: Jason Feng
Planner: Leo Bovaller
Agency producer: Alexander Blidner
Production company: Tool of North America
Postproduction: Cabin editing company
Director: Floyd Russ
Producer: Andy Coverdale
Executive producer: Brad Johns/Nancy Hacohen
D.O.P: Christophe Collette
Music: Victor Magro/Future Perfect
Editor: Isaac Chen
Sound: Lime Studios
Activation strategy and orchestration: Mano Copenhagen
Strategy director: Thor Otar
Client lead: Jakob Stigler Orchestration
Lead: Liv Sørensen
Distribution partner: Verizon Media (Ryot Studio)
Account director: Jesper Laumand
Distribution strategy director: Yangze Wang
Planner: Mads Linnebjerg
Editorial distribution: Sandra Rasmussen
Social distribution: Nicklas Fjelsted Holm
PR Distribution: Anna Taussi
Researcher: Troels Ringsted
Account Manager: Annie Aa
You’re really starting to milk that same old insight and doing it less creatively with every execution.
ReplyThis is very touching and really true on what many many Chinese women are going thru. I love the fact of sticking to the purpose and keep driving this.
ReplyWater skis on, jump ramp in sight, shark floating below.
Be careful guys.
ReplyHave your say