11 Luxury Lunar New Year Marketing Campaigns

In China, of all the annual celebrations, New Year is perhaps the most significant. Regarded and cherished for millennia as both the beginning of a hard-won period of rest after a year of labour and as the beginning of the Lunar New Year, the period also marks one of the greatest regular human migrations as the Chinese take the roads and railways to spend time with their family.

Lunar New Year is always of great commercial importance too. And since the wealth of the country has mushroomed in the past 30 years, many luxury brands commemorate Lunar New Year to target China’s 400 million middle-class consumers.

In this article, we take a look inside 11 luxury marketing campaigns designed to mark the 2022 Lunar New Year. 

Gucci : tiger themed special editions

Gucci launched their dedicated tiger collection comprising special edition Ace and Rhyton sneakers/trainers, sweaters, T-shirts and ready-to-wear accessories.

The campaign was subject to some controversy, largely from animal rights activists as the company used live tigers in the ad campaign. 

Despite the company’s protestations that the tigers had been treated well and had come to no harm and oversight of the tigers’ welfare by an independent third-party animal welfare charity on set, this did not stop activists from complaining, among them the World Animal Protection US and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 

Balenciaga : tiger-themed collection

Demna, the creative director of Spanish luxury fashion hour Balenciaga, launched a range of 57 pieces comprising leaping tiger icons, orange accents, and tiger stripes.

The collection was cleverly designed so that, even though each piece is distinctive in appearance, they still incorporate the design codes for which the company is famous. 

Moschino : Moschino game

Moschino created a special capsule collection using Kellogg’s Frosties’ mascot, Tony the Tiger, as its focal point.

Originated by the company’s creative director, Jeremy Scott, each piece features Tony’s beloved catchphrase “They’re gr-r-reat!”. 

Prada : “Action in the Year of the Tiger”

Prada are tying in their Lunar New Year campaign with their corporate social responsibility program by launching a campaign featuring their local China brand ambassadors called “Action in the Year of the Tiger”.

As part of this campaign, they’ll make a donation to the China Green Foundation’s “Walking With Tiger and Leopard” program which highlights issues surrounding biodiversity and wildlife in China.

They’re also running an art competition to people aged 30 or under to sculpt, design, or paint their personal interpretation of a tiger. Some of these pieces will be used as part of a special project lasting throughout 2022 and the competition will be judged by artists Goshka Macuga, Lu Yang, and Liu Ye.

Burberry : tiger-themed collection

British brand Burberry was arguably one of the pioneers for luxury brands launching a presence in China. They only have 57 stores including three in Hangzhou, nine in Shanghai, and eight in Beijing. Sales are rapidly increasing year on year thanks to the quality of its products and the way its marketing campaigns have been fine-tuned to adapt to local sensitivities and taste.

The collection marking this Lunar New year reflects the innate strength and confidence of tigers and features stars Yang Ling, Wang Xiangguo, Liu Chunjie, and Liu Bingbing captured in a series of stills by photographer Feng Li.

The women’s collection includes a belted car coat, a pussy-bow blouse, a shirtdress, and a crew-neck sweater. Its men’s lineup includes a silk twill shirt, drawcord and hoodie joggers featuring the Monogram motif, and lightweight funnel-neck jackets.

The company have also released a range of accessories and bags to celebrate the New Year.

Louis Vuitton : gift selection

Louis Vuitton has launched a range of limited edition gifts in its exclusive Precious Tiger range including tiger shawls, squares, cadenzas, earrings, rings, scarves, bracelets, and boxes right through to Precious Tiger Beanies.

The launch is accompanied by a dream-scape short film directed by Roman Coppola and starring Zhou Dongyu.

Shanghai Tang – tiger-design chopsticks

Based in Hong Kong, Shanghai Tang is a luxury fashion house which, among other things, produces household items whose dominant material of creation is porcelain. 

Following on from their 2021 ox-design chopsticks (limited to 100 sets), they have released a pair of reg and magenta tiger-motif chopsticks which come in a luxurious red box. Purchasers are encouraged to use the chopsticks during New Year’s Eve dinner to celebrate the Lunar New Year. 

Ferragamo : tribute collection

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, rising Chinese artists, were asked by Italian luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo to imagine and create an intricate but distinctive design of a regal tiger, a frequently occurring motif through centuries of Chinese history.

Stella McCartney : illustrations

Stella Mcartney’s love for animals was inherited from both her mother and father and, in this collection, Stella McCartney celebrates the majestic Chinese tiger’s symbolisation in traditional Chinese zodiacal artwork.

The airbrushed illustrations are provided by Albert Seleznyov and they heavily feature in sweaters, t-shirts, and bags in the collection.

Fendi – inspired by a Siberian tiger

Fendi’s celebration of the tiger emphasizes the creature’s vigour, courage, enthusiasm, and energy with patterns in their collection based on the stripes on a Siberian tiger.

To market the pieces to Chinese consumers, Joni and Jackson Wong were chosen to model the clothing against a rich, blood-red background.

Harry Winston : watch limited to eight pieces

America-based Swiss watch manufacturer and jeweller Harry Winton Inc has released very limited edition watches to celebrate the Lunar New Year since 2016 and 2022 is going to be no different.

Eight is a very lucky number in Chinese culture and therefore this range is limited to eight pieces. On the watch face, three gold rosettes and two tiger cubs whose eyes are comprised of bright diamonds. The case is also covered in 57 brilliant-cut diamonds.

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