On the second day of 2025, the Italian luxury fashion house Gucci launched a promotional video for its Chinese New Year (CNY) campaign, as well as its exclusive capsule collection. Although CNY is still just under a month away, starting the campaign immediately after the New Year in the Gregorian calendar is not uncommon to see, especially when CNY falls in January.
The video stars two Gucci brand ambassadors, Chinese actor and singer Xiao Zhan and Chinese actress Ni Ni. The video focuses on the reunion, especially family reunions. The promotional ad begins with a familiar family affair of generations enjoying each other’s company. A child tears a page from the calendar, marking 24 January, which will be 25 of the 12th month in the Chinese calendar this year, before Xiao’s character arrives at the party dressed in his look from the CNY collection shoot, holding a Gucci shopping bag while greeting his family. He then sees Ni’s character, also sporting Gucci, looking forlornly through the window, suggesting another reunion.
The campaign also includes an exclusive WeChat Red Packet cover from the Italian brand, which can be pre-ordered now. Xiao’s star power caused the campaign video to be reposted 174,000 times and the official hashtag “Happy Chinese New Year with Gucci” (#跟古驰欢乐过年#) gained 160 million views in the past 30 days.
Gucci had a rather tough 2024 as the brand’s revenue decreased 18%, 19% and 25% in the first 3 quarters of the year, respectively, which is more than the level of total decrease for the Kering Group. According to Armelle Pouloum, CFO of Kering, Gucci and Kering are both undergoing a transformation due to the headwinds in the luxury sector, which has caused short-term difficulties for the brand and the group. In 2025, the brand will be consolidating its stores while upgrading some, as well as countering some of the negative effects from wholesale channels such as discount and outlet stores.
