Both a chestnut tree and a martingale of luxury, Chinese New Year always offers a pretext for the launch of capsule collections and dedicated communication campaigns. But far from the traditional but simplistic imagery of auspicious red and gold, some luxury houses have refined their intercultural knowledge to the point of learning from their mistakes and delivering campaigns that are both authentic and daring. A detailed review of two “flawless campaigns” from the 2025 edition with Anaïs Bournonville, expert in the Chinese market.
Keeping it simple is often more complicated than it seems.
According to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, the year 2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake, characterized by its sophistication, harmony and moderation.
While most luxury brands have released limited edition items and associated campaigns, two of them have shone through their simplicity and authenticity, according to Anaïs Bournonville, CEO of AB Advisory and columnist for Luxus Plus.
Learning the hard way
Before looking at what makes a successful Chinese New Year campaign, it is worth looking at what, on the contrary, makes a failed campaign.
In 2018, Burberry wanted to develop a campaign celebrating the family in its own way for Chinese New Year. Expecting to receive the approval of local populations, it was ultimately an outcry that the tartan brand had inadvertently triggered on social networks. Some internet users saw in the composition a sad image, even a latent war of succession, where the grandchildren want to kill the grandmother to get the inheritance…a far cry from Confucian loyalty to the home and the importance of the family in China.
“With this 2018 Burberry campaign, we have a striking example of a brand that wanted to overemphasize its artistic creativity by breaking the rules. This new vision of the family, overly fashion-oriented and without a smile, contrasted sharply with the joyful nature of this holiday and even conveyed an austere, even negative image,” explains Anaïs Bournonville.
Fortunately, things that can be improved can be improved, like in 2025.
Burberry or local know-how in the spotlight
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Featured Photo: © Burberry
