8 Ox-picious Lunar New Year Ads of 2021!
It’s the Year of the Ox and emotions are running high. Which New Year’s ads generated the most smiles, laughs, and tears?
In the run-up to the Lunar New Year, we used our emotional content testing tool, UnrulyEQ, to discover how festive ads were being received by audiences across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
The results were then compared to our database of thousands of ads to examine viewers’ emotional responses and the impact they had on various brand and business metrics.
Head over to our Lunar New Year Ad Hub to check out the results for all the ads we tested.
As the number 8 is recognised as an auspicious number in modern Chinese culture, we’ve put together a quick read of our Top 8 Lunar New Year Ads of 2021!
We’ve ranked them by their EQ Score — a composite score based on the intensity of emotions viewers felt while watching, plus a campaign’s ability to drive brand metrics such as brand favorability and purchase intent.
#8 Walch (Singapore)
EQ Score: 6.5
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Amazement
Emotional Intensity: 32.3%
Brand Favourability: 77%
Purchase Intent: 63.1%
Unilever created this ad that shows a family whose members are based in different parts of the world. The spot shows them celebrating the New Year over a video call instead of meeting physically, a situation that many are facing this year due to the travel restrictions and social distancing measures caused by the ongoing pandemic.
Instead of giving the usual Chinese New Year gifts like Mandarin oranges and snacks, Walch encourages viewers to consider giving the gift of hygiene through hand sanitisation.
#7 FairPrice (Singapore)
EQ Score: 6.6
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Amazement
Emotional Intensity: 39.9%
Brand Favourability: 51.1%
Purchase Intent: 62.6%
At number 7, the family in FairPrice’s ad find themselves in a similar situation, celebrating the New Year on a video call. The family of four pay their respects and deliver their New Year wishes to two initially unimpressed elders.
#6 Coca-cola (Vietnam)
EQ Score: 6.7
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Warmth
Emotional Intensity: 72.7%
Brand Favourability: 87%
Purchase Intent: 86.9%
To celebrate the Lunar New Year (more commonly known as Tết in Vietnam), Coca-cola released a heart-warming video to remind viewers to be thankful for the people around them. Whether it’s frontline workers like delivery staff, a mother who’s working hard to prepare a festive meal or a neighbour who’s unable to spend time with his family during the holidays.
With 2020 being one of the most trying years of late, what better time to start showing kindness to others than the New Year.
#5 SoImJenn x McDonald’s (Malaysia)
EQ Score: 6.7
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Hilarity
Emotional Intensity: 67.2%
Brand Favourability: 69.5%
Purchase Intent: 83.1%
Employing influencer marketing strategies to promote their festive special, the ‘Golden Prosperity Burger‘, the fast-food chain engaged Malaysian social media personality, Jenn Chia of SoImJenn, to produce this hilarious yet mouth-watering ad.
Boldy named “BEST CNY AD 2021?“, the scene starts with Jenn and her partner deciding to order the mentioned burger. It’s quickly unwrapped after being delivered and upon taking a bite, Jenn turns gold all over and breaks out into a song and dance, spreading festive cheer all around!
#4 Panadol (Malaysia)
EQ Score: 6.7
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Warmth
Emotional Intensity: 74%
Brand Favourability: 67.2%
Purchase Intent: 80.2%
Many would agree that festive delicacies greatly contribute to the allure of the Lunar New Year celebrations. But in an age where convenience is key, and almost anything can be purchased with the click of a button, we often forget why it’s important to keep traditions alive.
Panadol’s long-form ad tells the story of two brothers’ attempts to recreate their grandmother’s love letters (aka egg rolls), overcoming all odds and gaining their family’s respect with a little help from Panadol’s ActiFast pills.
#3 Cadbury (Malaysia)
EQ Score: 6.8
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Warmth
Emotional Intensity: 71.4%
Brand Favourability: 71.1%
Purchase Intent: 82.1%
Cadbury’s ad opens with ‘Uncle Wong’ having dinner by himself, implying that he could not spend the holiday with his family or friends. His meal is interrupted as he takes notice of what seems to be a power failure at a party happening across the street.
Uncle Wong agrees to offer a helping hand after his neighbour comes by asking for help, but little does he know that it was a surprise to welcome him to join their New Year celebrations!
#2 DBS (Singapore)
EQ Score: 6.8
Top Emotions evoked: Happiness & Pride
Emotional Intensity: 39.4%
Brand Favourability: 54.3%
Purchase Intent: 64.8%
With the latest social distancing measures in place, Singaporeans are currently allowed to have only eight guests in their homes per day. As a result, some chose to celebrate the New Year virtually instead of struggling to accommodate waves of guests over multiple days. How are red packets given then?
DBS shows viewers how to keep traditions going using the DBS Paylah app as we adjust to the ‘new normal‘. In this video, we see recipients of these digital red packets exclaiming ‘Huat ah‘, which loosely translates to ‘to prosper‘ in Hokkien. A term that many Singaporeans are familiar with, this evoked a sense of Pride in many viewers.
#1 Uniqlo (Singapore)
EQ Score: 7.2
Top Emotions evoked: Warmth & Surprise
Emotional Intensity: 43.5%
Brand Favourability: 59.2%
Purchase Intent: 69.2%
Topping this year’s Lunar New Year chart is a campaign from Uniqlo. Acknowledging how difficult the past year has been, the narrator begins by welcoming the New Year with a sigh of relief, a feeling that many can resonate with.
This ad by the Japanese casualwear brand sends a strong message of hope to consumers across Singapore, embracing the fact that things won’t go back to being the way they used to be, whilst encouraging them to look forward to the year ahead and not to let the little moments of joy pass them by.
If you’d like to see more Lunar New Year ads that we’ve tested this year, click here!
