JD Takeaway has been on fire since its launch, both business and marketing-wise, delivering 10 million orders in a day and winning a publicity war against Meituan. With founder Richard Liu Qiangdong (刘强东) also delivering for the platform, acting as a walking billboard, or rather, a billboard on wheels, the newly launched food delivery wing of JD.com is the biggest disruptor in the food delivery sector, forcing the hands of both Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me. Now, JD Takeaway is harnessing the power of memes with its latest driver recruit: GG Bond (猪猪侠).
GG Bond is a cartoon superhero from the long-running animated series of the same name, premiered in 2005. The name is a play on both “蜘蛛侠” (Spider-Man) and “GG” being the same as the Cantonese pronunciation of “猪猪” (piggy). It went viral in 2023 mostly because of memes and stickers, as well as being part of the Y2K nostalgia for Gen Z and ageing millennials. The meme started when eagle-eyed netizens discovered that the red JD Takeaway uniform and helmet Richard Liu wears when delivering for the platform looks uncannily like GG Bond’s superhero suit.
On 28 April, JD.com released an image of an ID showing GG Bond as a rider in front of the company’s headquarters, as well as a series of ads featuring the beloved porcine superhero with other JD staff and riding on a scooter making deliveries. On Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, the topic “GG Bond onboards JD Takeaway” has amassed a whopping 110 million views since launch.
The fast reaction and community co-creation of JD.com impressed netizens across platforms. In fact, the official accounts accepting and participating in the meme have provided many with “emotional value”. With goodwill from riders, customers and netizens on its side, JD Takeaway might just achieve greatness itself, instead of only being the infrastructure for “local life” services as pundits predicted at its launch. Liu’s pledge of “unlimited” investment to JD’s food delivery arm also proves this.
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.
