Chinese Olympics gold medallist Wang Chuqin has become one of the hottest celebrities in the country. Shortly after being named a brand ambassador for French luxury brand Louis Vuitton, Wang has been picked by American fast-food goliath McDonald’s as its latest brand ambassador. McDonald’s is also launching a major campaign to celebrate this partnership.
The partnership was announced on 19 March, and the campaign will last throughout March and April, with the first phase being large-screen out-of-home (OOH) ads in malls across the country. Between 21 and 22 March, sticker sets will be available for coupon holders. Next month, Wang-themed meals will be available at McDonald’s restaurants and at the end of April, a grand finale with limited-edition Wang Chuqin figurines, cards and badges will be released.
On Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, the topic “McDonald’s Wang Chuqin” (#麦当劳 王楚钦#) topped the Hot Search list with 8.16 million views. As one might expect, most of the posts are about netizens finding the screens with the collaboration ads in cities across China. On 19 March, there was another Wang-related hashtag on the list, “Wang Chuqin participates qualifiers of the National Games” (#王楚钦出征全运会资格赛#) which ranked number 9 with 2.85 million views.
Wang’s partner in the mixed doubles during their 2024 Paris Olympics win, Sun Yingsha, bagged a KFC partnership this Chinese New Year (CNY), among other brand ambassadorships, including OLAY and La Roche-Posay. Both Wang and Sun command huge popularity in China, both for their athletic prowess and personable images. As luxury brands approach athletes, non-luxury consumer brands can more easily leverage their fun and approachable sides and connect with their fanbase.
Need to boost your China strategy? Dao Pro delivers bespoke insights on marketing, innovation, and digital trends, direct from Chinese sources. Find out more from our Dao Strategy Team here.
