Beats Launches Vibrant Illustrated Campaign in China

Mother Shanghai has launched its first campaign for Beats Flex. The series of colorful illustrations, geared toward the all-important GenZ audience, launched just in time for the yearly mass migration home for the New Year holidays.

Research put together by the agency showed a rapidly growing undercurrent amongst young Chinese valuing experiences and stories collected.

In with experience out with material goods. A tough sell for a headphone brand.

The campaign takes inspiration from Nian Hua, a traditional form of Chinese illustration, one that has added significance at Lunar New Year, telling stories within images.

Mother Shanghai worked with Seoul-based illustrator and animator Inji Seo to feature positive stories of different kinds of riches.

Seo created the fantastic pieces with elements of color-saturation and more stylized illustration, while still being sympathetic to the roots of Nian Hua. Collectively, they do a pretty solid job of positioning Beats as more than just a headphone.

“Working with Inji, we took inspiration from traditional Nian Hua, and updated with a modern twist to present a collection of art that has GenZ swag, attitude and surrealistic cultural elements through color-saturated and contemporary-styled illustrations,” said Kim Liu, Creative at Mother.

Credits

Client: Beats China
Campaign: Beats Flex
Agency: Mother Shanghai
Creative: Mother Shanghai
Strategy: Mother Shanghai
Typographer: HeFan
Illustrator: Inji Seo
Production Company: Hamlet China
Producer: Duffy Du
Executive Producer: Yimeng Zhang
Production Coordinator (Seoul): Simon Yi
Retoucher: Allen Chew