Maternal/child nutrition brand Biostime (合生元) has launched a series of subway posters that have drawn praise from users on Rednote (小红书). The campaign shoots for the niggling questions that hang at the back of mothers’ minds: ‘What if we get too tired to keep walking on a spring outing?’, ‘We’ve visited every park – where else can we go?’
Instead of offering direct advice, the large-format ads offer a different take: ‘Roll with it.’ ‘Climb a tree.’ ‘Copy, paste.’ These witty answers are actually pretty shrewd. They nod to the dilemmas parents find themselves in. The answers then start to construct an image of mothers who embrace a playful, childlike approach to childcare.
Rather than positioning parenting as a problem to be solved, the campaign reframes it as something improvised, imperfect, and occasionally absurd. It’s a notable departure from the category’s usual tone, where authority and expertise tend to dominate.
Could Biostime be playing to a shift in demographic?
As more children of the 90s enter parenthood, expectations and practices of motherhood are changing. What came before is no longer the default narrative.
The campaign comes with a theme: ‘My Mum is Like a Flower’ (我的妈妈像花花) or – less literally – My Mum is Like Huahua, which in Chinese could sound like a carefree name. Again, it’s a playful framing. Certainly not one defined by sacrifice. With it comes taglines: ‘Upgraded Paixing’ (派星新升级) – a nod to the baby formula series, and ‘Supporting you to be a more carefree mum’
The idea here is that with baby formula doing the legwork, you can free yourself up to be a more playful mum. It’s not a hard product push by any means. More of a smart acknowledgement of how contemporary mothers feel. No wonder Rednote lapped it up. One user summarised it well: ‘Awesome advertising.’
