Creative Mid-Autumn Festival marketing

Festivals are important occasions for marketers to drive their brand awareness. While some brands simply go through the motions, some find more interesting ways to connect their names with the holiday. Here are some examples of creative marketing connected to this year's Mid-Autumn Festival.

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There is a folk tale about mooncakes being used as a vehicle for distributing letters for the Ming revolutionaries in their effort to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China in the Yuan dynasty. Guangxi bakery Lao Chuangzhang, picking up on current anti-Japanese sentiment in China, has produced a series of mooncakes imprinted with anti-Japanese messages like 'Bite up little Japan'. The photos of these mooncakes have been widely shared on Facebook, a free and successful viral marketing campaign--even if you don't agree with the political stance.

UK creative agency Love has unveiled its latest work for Diageo: the design of limited-edition Johnnie Walker packaging to mark this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.

Love commissioned Chinese artist and Tsinghua Academy of Arts & Design graduate Chen Xingxing to create the illustrations.

The intricate design features Johnnie Walker’s globally recognised striding man, playfully integrated into the mythical lunar festival story as he takes his next natural step…to the moon.

MX Snowy mooncake targets young consumers with its key message focus on “stickiness” (煙韌), “Fun” and “Sharing”. The “Stickiness” idea plays on a double meaning of intimacy as well as the chewy nature of new crust.

As part of the integrated campaign by Maxus Hong Kong, an installation in the Causeway Bay MTR station features an interactive, motion-sensing video panel that allows users to make virtual snowy mooncakes decorated with their faces. The system dispenses a cash voucher for every mooncake created and shared.

FUJIFILM Studio in Hong Kong is organizing its first 'Night scenery and Mid-Autumn Festival Lantern photography class' in late September, to enlighten budding photographers the tips of improving their skills for this festive occasions, especially at night.

Lee Kum Kee has sponsored the production of the Lantern Wonderland, which is part of the Mid-Autumn Festival organised by HKTB to showcase the city's festive appeal and vibrant culture.

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The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) offers the public a close encounter with the "moon" at Victoria Park between 27 September and 2 October. In this case the "Golden Moon" is a 6-storey, incandescent spherical lantern installation.

Lee Kum Kee has sponsored the production of the Lantern Wonderland, which is part of the Mid-Autumn Festival organised by HKTB to showcase the city's festive appeal and vibrant culture.

We have seen Angry Birds' copycat mooncakes and lanterns before, but Finnish creator Rovio Entertainment has a joint venture with hotel chain Fairmont Singapore to launch the world's first officially licensed Angry Birds mooncakes this year. The cakes feature four popular characters--the Red Bird, Ice bird, Laser Bird and Green Pig--from the Space version of the game adorning the snowskin of the mooncakes.

Online travel site Zuji has captured attention with its Mid-Autumn getaway ads by creatively turning famous landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, the Great Wall of China and the Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai into traditional mooncake and lantern motifs.

Hong Kong homegrown lifestyle retail shop Goods of Desire (G.O.D.) offers a 'cheeky' line of mooncakes. Launched in 2008, these highly popular mooncakes, fashioned in the shape of buttocks, also convey a play-on-words based on the festival’s date on the 15th day of the eightth lunar month, '八月十五', which also means 'butt'.