Lowe China won the Alipay account in June. The agency explained that its objective was not to ask people to use more Alipay services, as Alipay is already a market leader in online shopping payments in China. Rather, it hopes to build and strengthen trust in its transactions and corporate identity.
The first commercial, an online video, is based on a real story in Szechuan. It tells the story of a poor labourer who was asked to carried two big parcels on a long journey with his boss. On the second day, he loses track of the boss, but is determined to find him. The message of this story is that even though a man can be poor, he can still have dignity and pride.
“We found the story compelling, as this sort of spirit is getting rare in this modern day,” said Kitty Lun, chairman and CEO of Lowe China. “Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma also demands corporate social responsibility and this spirit and proposition of ‘trust’ and commitment’ with the common folks are in sync with Alipay.”
The video was released on the internet last weekend and was vioewed by more than half a million people in the first three days. The number skyrocketed to 1.5 million by the end of the fifth day.