Mars Wrigley's Dove asks China to 'Put pleasure first'

Mars chocolate brand Dove has launched a major China campaign led by BBDO Greater China and 180 Beijing, together with MediaCom, Edelman and Kongming.

Under the banner of ‘Put pleasure first’, the work is based on an insight a lot of people are more keenly aware of now, thanks to the pandemic. As a release puts it, "People tend to deprioritize what they love to do, in face of what they need to do."

The campaign has a lot of elements and included activity across several social and e-commerce platforms:

• The 10-minute short film above, ‘The Endless Fun Fair’, stars Zhou Dongyu and Liu Yijun and was directed by Yang Mingming.
• The film was produced by an all-female crew recruited via an open challenge on Xinpianchang Studios.
• The film was partly crowdsourced through a Douyin challenge that asked people to post content about their own pleasures in life, with a chance to have that content featured in the film.
• The film's premiere was live-streamed on Tmall, where consumers could also see exclusive content featuring Zhou Dongyu and the crew.
• The Tmall premiere also offered a chance to buy the limited edition Dove Donut Chocolate that appears in the film. 
• The launch coincided with the official launch of Dove’s Super Brand Day on Tmall. 
• A behind-the-scenes documentary was released on social-media platforms.
• On Bilibili, the campaign debuted a virtual character called Dove Girl and invited users to create their own content about the things they love to do.

What they said

Arthur Tsang, CCO, BBDO China:

From the very beginning the ambition of this idea was to be breakthrough, not only in terms of the messaging but also in terms of how consumers will engage, encounter and be inspired by it. The experience truly spans across the platforms our customers live on, but centers around in a piece of film that more than an advertisement, sparks conversation and has a positive impact on society.

Howard Mok, CCO, 180 Beijing:

We are honored to be a part of this great work. We believe that a good idea can express the same conviction through various media vehicles. In this campaign, we leverage Top 4 social media platforms to engage with young people and call on them to join the campaign. By arousing the young generation to pursue, show and share pleasure to the rest of the world, “Dove put pleasure first” becomes the power. 

Rupert McPetrie, CEO Mediacom China:

We are very proud to participate in this inspiring and category redefining project which intends to propel women to put their pleasure first and pursue what they truly love. This project is one of the most supreme moments of our longstanding partnership with Mars. We are delighted to share our expertise in driving industry leading collaboration between content and media to deliver the holistic movie experience to millions of Chinese audiences empowered by intelligent media data and insights.

Cathy Yue, SVP, Edelman Brand Marketing:

We worked with worldwide famous movie star Dongyu Zhou to promote the concept of 'Put Pleasure First' and Dove's new products through an innovative online launch, giving everyone tips on how to lead a pleasurable life and planting the seeds of 'Put Pleasure First' in everyone's heart.

Shanshan He, business director, Kongming:

As a bridge between the brand, Tmall and the consumers, we had the great opportunity to work with both the brand and Tmall to create these unique product stories. We believe the campaign showcases a unique way of integrating brand story with a consumer centric product experience.

Maise Huang, demand reinvention officer, Mars Wrigley China:

Our limited-edition Dove Donut Chocolate was developed with agility and quick go-to-market ability in mind. By utilizing the trends and consumer insights of the Tmall Super Brand Day team and the product development capabilities of Mars Wrigley’s Pilot Scale Plant and C2M2C Model, we were able to successfully turn brand storytelling into business performance. 

Ad Nut:

Ad Nut questions the wisdom of closely associating the product with a scene of someone vomiting, and definitely does not recommend eating in a ball pit—or even going into a ball pit. But Ad Nut liked the film overall and commends the ambition of this impressive, cross-platform effort. It will be interesting to see how well it resonates with consumers and pays off for the brand.

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.