On the last day of April, American livestreamer and YouTuber IShowSpeed appeared in his first Chinese commercial. The promo is for the food and dairy giant Yili, specifically the latest “chewing lemon” (嚼柠檬) offering from its Youngfun (优酸乳) yoghurt brand. On Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, the topic “IShowSpeed sings ‘Lai Dou Lai Le’” (#甲亢哥唱来都来了#) reached number 29 on the Culture and Entertainment list with 12.43 million views.
The ad starts with IShowSpeed recounting his recent internet-breaking trip to China and one specific Chinese phrase that he heard a lot during the tour: “Lai dou lai le” (来都来了, lit. since you’re here). The saying originally has the same meaning as “you’ve come all this way”, an expression to encourage people to go through with something so as not to let their previous effort go to waste. However, in recent internet lingo and the Yili commercial, the reluctant resignation and submission is subverted to a more positive and daring tone to try new things that you’d otherwise “wouldn’t, couldn’t, or even shouldn’t”, much like YOLO from the early 2010s.
The IShowSpeed Chinese commercial itself is tailored for the May Day holiday and people’s plans to travel. Several situations, like accidentally ordering a huge serving of hot and spicy noodle soup, facing rain while climbing a mountain and finding a great spot to dip into the water while hiking, the phrase, shouted by Speed from afar, encourages the character to finish their gargantuan bowl, climb to the top in a storm and jump into a lake, since they’re already there. IShowSpeed then performs a song he’d written for the commercial, predictably called “Lai Dou Lai Le”, encouraging people to “enjoy milk, enjoy holiday”, try the things you hesitate, just “don’t forget your Yili”, advises Speed.
With Speed’s China tour still fresh in people’s minds and Chinese netizens likely to be travelling to one of the cities IShowSpeed covered on his trip, it is a great opportunity for both Yili and Speed to remind people of the streamer and his love for China, and encourage people to make the most of their holiday.
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