Timed for the arrival of colder weather, Uniqlo (优衣库) has partnered with Swedish table tennis champion Truls Moregard (特鲁尔斯·莫雷加德) to push their PUFFTECH puffer jackets in China. The ad comes in the form of a short vlog-style campaign in which Truls Moregard goes about his day in PUFFTECH wear, encountering situations where its features come in handy.
He’s caught in the rain, he leaps about on the set of an ad shoot, he even plays ping pong with a set of chopsticks and a beef ball – all to demonstrate the light, versatile and waterproof features in a day-to-day setting. Shot in a casual, almost vlog-like style, the film mixes playful humour with everyday realism, making high-performance wear feel approachable rather than aspirational.
Choosing a foreign athlete from a sport in which China dominates might seem odd, but really it fits neatly for Uniqlo. They want to appeal in China and still maintain their image as a global brand. Truls Moregard, who regularly takes on Chinese ping pong stars, makes an obvious choice. He’s widely respected in the ping pong community both in China and out.
Featuring a respected foreign champion like Moregard pays homage to Chinese ping pong culture without sacrificing Uniqlo’s global image.
Uniqlo have proved very effective at this kind of partnership. Previous link ups with Australian golfer Adam Scott and para-athlete Shingo Kunieda come to mind. Roger Federer’s post-Nike collaboration is another good example. In all cases, Uniqlo deftly ties the precision and economy of great athletes at their sport to the minimalism of Uniqlo’s clothing identity.
In the case of this latest partnership, the message is also about versatility and practicality, something that’s been seen in Canada Goose’s autumn/winter range this year – one that will rival Uniqlo’s PUFFTECH. It seems that brands are increasingly looking to an urban consumer in China, one that has varying demands for their clothes – perhaps even protection against the dangers of beef ball ping pong…
