On 23 April, Estée Lauder Companies-owned luxury skincare and beauty brand La Mer named Mandopop legend Jay Chou as its new global ambassador. The key visual released by La Mer shows Chou holding The Treatment Lotion and basking in the blueish green hue which signifies the sea. On Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, the topic “La Mer Ambassador Jay Chou” (#海蓝之谜品牌大使周杰伦#) reached number 31 on the culture and entertainment list with 4.73 million views.
Chou’s profile in the luxury industry has been growing as this news comes just over a month after LVMH-owned luxury luggage brand Rimowa also partnered with Chou. Last December, Dior announced a high-profile partnership with Chou, making him the first global ambassador from Greater China. Interestingly, Dior is also part of the LVMH family. Additionally, he has been a brand ambassador for Tudor Watches since 2018.
Brands have been diversifying with ambassador choices as of late. Since Gen X and Millennials continue to be the main clientele for luxury, Chou still commands a following among this crowd. With Chou having been at the forefront of Mandopop since the late 1990s, his main fan demographic is 25 to 34, as well as 35 to 44-year-olds. Indeed, Chou had just concluded his record-breaking 4-day concert run in Hangzhou, as part of his Carnival World tour.
La Mer named South Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun as its ambassador last year. She has also been a mainstay in popular culture since the turn of the century. Both campaigns with Jun and Chou are about anti-ageing or staying young. Just this month, the brand launched a 5-episode podcast with Xiaoyuzhou in China discussing age and youth. All these moves are firmly aimed at Millennials as the target audience. It would seem as though rational consumption and even “reverse consumption” is still trending, so instead of the ultra-trendy Gen Z, some luxury brands are now appealing to the relatively young generations with more disposable income.
