WHAT THE FUSS IS ABOUT
Technology has made what happens on one side of the world become newsworthy in an instant through social media - including advertising campaigns and celebrity endorsements.
In this series of blog posts, we take a look at the world's largest celebrity-endorsed social post in history.
What's It All About
In this series, we will show how three official celebrity endorsement brands, as well as more than a dozen other brands, took advantage of Chinese mega-star Bingbing Fan and her repost of a picture with the simple statement “us”, turning it into the largest celebrity-endorsed social media advertising campaign in history!
Who is Bingbing Fan
Bingbing Fan, the #1 female celebrity in China, recently announced that she was in a relationship for the first time in 18 years. For the past 18 years, she has been putting all her time and effort into her career as an actress. So, it is no surprise that she topped the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list three years in a row in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and appeared in the top 10 since 2006. All of Bingbing’s celebrity friends, including herself, call her a workaholic.
The Announcement & Photo
The relationship announcement was first released on Tencent News, the parent company of QQ Messenger and WeChat after the announcement went viral on Weibo. Bingbing’s new boyfriend posted a photo of the two of them together and wrote “us”. The post received 3.8 million likes. A minute later, Bingbing shared the original post and also wrote “us” which received 2.8 million likes.
What Is Weibo
Weibo, according to Wikipedia, is “a Chinese microblogging website. It is a cross between FaceBook and Twitter. As one of the most popular sites in China, it is in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with market penetration similar to the United States’s Twitter.” This is the largest Chinese social media site in the world.
So Who Is The Boyfriend?
Bingbing’s first “official” boyfriend in 18 years, Chen Li, is also a well-known celebrity. Chen’s popularity showed significant growth during the past year, thanks to the hit reality show “Running Man”. From the show, Chen became known for his muscles and strength, hence the nickname “the black bull”.
The Advertising Campaign & Major Brands
Minus all the romance and surprise from the announcement, Bingbing’s repost of “us” turned out to be one of the best and most subtle advertising campaigns - ever - on social media!
As indicated by Weibo, Bingbing shared the “us” post using her New Moto X cellphone, a new product of Lenovo, which started its brand partnership with Bingbing the day before the big announcement. In the couple’s photo, Bingbing is wearing a Cleopatra-styled wig. The wig, as later claimed by a wig company called Rebecca, is another one of Bingbing’s numerous brand endorsements. The advertising did not end here. As yet another one of Bingbing's brand endorsements, L’Oreal promptly posted on their Weibo asking their followers to guess which L’Oreal lipstick Bingbing is wearing in the “us” photo.
The Brand Involvement
With such a viral post, how could any brand possibly pass on this opportunity to get on board? Exactly! Countless brands posted their own marketing messages around the “us” topic. Some brands played with words, some gave blessings with relevant products attached, and some posted photos of their products mimicking the couple in the original post.
More On This Campaign
Stay tuned for a future post about the specific "official celebrity endorsement partner" brands who capitalized on this opportunity, as well as "non-official" brands that jumped on the bandwagon!! Check out best practices for brand marketers to create a fast engagement with their own consumers through a celebrity-driven social media campaign!
The Infographic
For detailed information and fun facts, check out our “How 3 Brands Made Social Media History” infographic.
