Key takeaways:
- Coca-Cola harnesses the fandom of Honor of Kings’s virtual boy band with different releases on multiple accounts for one of the latest gaming collabs.
- KFC x Identity V is a complete meme campaign. Launched on April Fool’s Day, the mixed nut latte is “abstract” through and through.
- A Minecraft Movie attracted collaborations from Pringles and McDonald’s, but both played it safe.
The many Black Myth: Wukong co-brandings last year showed “the male buying power”, according to Fei Yang, Luckin Coffee’s chief growth officer (CGO). Of course, this is a controversial and stereotypical statement. But it does show that purchasing power and will are strong with popular game IPs. This year, we are seeing even more gaming collabs, especially from global chains and brands that are developing a localised market.
It does show that purchasing power and will are strong with popular game IPs
Boy band: Coca-Cola x Honor of Kings
Neither party in this pair needs any introduction. One of the most iconic drink companies and one of the most popular games in China join hands for a co-branding campaign. The specific collab last month was between Coca-Cola’s popular Sugar Free line and the Tencent game’s in-house virtual boy band WXWZ (无限王者团, lit. Limitless Kings Group). The collab is to promote the No Sugar Coke in time for the “Weight Management Year” programme initiated by the Chinese government at the Two Sessions earlier this year, as well as the long-awaited new single from the virtual idol group.
The collaboration mostly involves three different promotional videos posted on multiple accounts. The main video, co-created by both Honor of Kings and Coca-Cola accounts, shows a regular CG version of the five members of the supergroup sharing cokes in their living room during band practice. A more “abstract” version of the ad was posted on the Honor of Kings account, showing “chibi” (cutesy caricature) versions of the members dancing with a Coke bottle while chanting the taglines. A final version with individual members was released on the WXWZ official account.
Meanwhile, there were prize draws to boost engagement on social media platforms. But the three different accounts give fans of the game and the boy band many layers of content, depending on which account they follow.
Nuts: KFC x Identity V
This is a bit of a left-field choice among gaming collabs. Identity V is a popular mobile game in the mode of asymmetrical multiplayer survival horror games by NetEase. KFC created a “mixed nut” pastel de nata latte. Pastel de nata is a Portuguese and Macau custard tart which is a staple on the KFC menu in China. K Coffee, KFC’s coffee chain, introduced its first nata coffee last year.
KFC, as always, with its “Crazy Thursday” sense of abstract humour, went full throttle with the meme-ability of the collab. Identity V is known as “第五人格” (di wu ren ge, lit. fifth persona) and is often shortened to “五人” (wu ren, lit. fifth person) by players. It sounds the same as “五仁”, a traditional mooncake filling usually translated as “mixed fruits and nuts” or “mixed nuts” but literally means “five nuts”.
KFC went full throttle with the meme-ability of the collab
The nuts are baked into the tart skin, which holds the coffee. The uncommon design and flavour, especially when mixed nut mooncakes have a polarising reputation, also makes the campaign meme-able, like the coriander pizzas from before. Introduced on April Fool’s Day, KFC opened four pop-up concept branches for “check-ins” (打卡), as well as merch giveaways for customers.
Do they count? A Minecraft Movie collabs
Technically, they are film collaborations. However, the film relies heavily on the IP of the game with its numerous easter eggs and namedrops. One would argue that the Minecraft film collaboration still relies on the game IP.
On the last day of March, Pringles launched its collaboration with A Minecraft Movie, two Minecraft-themed Pringles packaging options for the original and sour cream onion flavours. From preordering tickets to bringing followers (and Pringles cans) to the China premiere of the film, the stackable crisps brand served as a partner in promoting the film. Before 30 September, Chinese netizens can submit their drawings of a pixelated Mr Pringles in the Minecraft world for a chance to win a prize.
On 3 April, a day ahead of the film’s release in China, McDonald’s launched its own collaboration with A Minecraft Movie. Taking McDonaldland residents Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird and the Hamburglar to the Minecraft world, McDonald’s introduced six different toys, including pixelated versions of the characters and iconic food from the fast-food chain. The campaign will run until 21 April.
With A Minecraft Movie becoming the top-grossing film during the Qingming holiday, it would seem that gaming IPs still command popularity and, by extension, buying power in China. From Coca-Cola’s virtual idol fandom approach to KFC’s “abstract” meme product on April Fool’s Day, all the way to the safe bets from Pringles and McDonald’s, there is more than one way to succeed in the gaming IP collabs arena.
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