To commemorate the debut of the world’s first Ultraman, every year on 10 July has been designated as “Ultraman Day”. This year, the second-hand trading platform Zhuanzhuan collaborated with the classic Ultraman to launch a “Special Joint-Named Project of Light”, creating an engaging advert with the nostalgic style of Ultraman, inviting users to “save the world with second-hand”—also the slogan of Zhuanzhuan.
At the beginning of the film, Ultraman spins around frantically, mirroring the name of the platform—spinning—and presenting the collaboration in a humorous way. It then highlights the selling point of “Strict Quality Inspection” of the products through Ultraman’s laser eyes and introduces the co-branded “Equipment of Light” products, including the classic Ultraman energy light power bank, the classic Ultraman computer bag, and three other products. The film concludes with Ultraman’s exclusive background music, transitioning to a cast list format to showcase a variety of popular digital products available on the platform.
This co-branding campaign has gained widespread attention on Weibo (China’s Twitter equivalent), with the topic #Zhuanzhuan Co-brands with Classic Ultraman# reaching 12.93 million views. One netizen asked in the comments section of Zhuanzhuan, “Can second-hand really save the world?” The official account replied, “Of course it can! Using second-hand items and reducing carbon emissions can make a great contribution to protecting the planet.”
Founded in 2015, Zhuanzhuan was incubated by 58.com’s second-hand channel. To date, Zhuanzhuan has facilitated hundreds of millions of second-hand transactions, cumulatively reducing carbon emissions by 4,113 tonnes. This effort significantly contributes to global environmental protection, aligning with the classic Ultraman IP’s mission of saving the world across different dimensions. The new co-branded products not only evoke childhood memories but also reinforce the brand’s mission of “making the world more sustainable through circulation”.
Ultraman is the Superman of the Japanese world. After the 1954 monster film Godzilla became a hit in Japan, monster culture swept across the country, leading to the creation of Ultraman, the hero who fights monsters and saves the world. In one of the episodes, people all over the world turned into light and defeated the monsters, making “Do you believe in light?” a popular Internet catchphrase. As long as there is light in our hearts, Ultraman will always exist, inspiring young netizens to fight against an imperfect world.
In addition to Zhuanzhuan’s collaboration, on Ultraman Day, eyewear brand Parim also partnered with Ultraman to launch a new co-branded EVE Light children’s series, featuring the cool image of Ultraman Zero printed on the frames. Last year, the smart browser Quark App officially announced Ultraman as the Spokesperson of Light and released a short film. The film, starting with the question “Do you still believe in light?”, told the story of how adults face challenges in life but, with Ultraman’s encouragement and Quark App’s efficient functions, they overcome these challenges. The Weibo topic #Ultraman Makes Me See The Truth Of Life# garnered 280 million views.
