Loewe, ever on the forefront of localisation in China, took up the format of microdrama marketing this Qixi. The vertical short-form series features five episodes, each lasting 45 seconds. The series is titled “Say yes to love” (鹊定爱). The Chinese title is a play on “确” (to confirm) and “鹊” (magpie), which are both pronounced “que”. Magpies are known in the Qixi myth for forming a bridge over the Milky Way (a river in Chinese mythology) for the star-crossed lovers, Weaver Girl and Cowherd, to meet each year.

The series is written by Loewe’s cultural advisor Qin Wen, and stars actress Chen Duling (陈都灵) and actor Chen Zheyuan (陈哲远) and tells a story of encounter and a budding romance, with a Loewe magpie bag charm as the key item in the story. Alongside the bag charm, the capsule collection also includes apparel and bags.

Microdrama continues to boom in 2025, not just as a content format but as a branding and marketing tool. In the first four months of the year, there were 153 new branded microdrama series in China, nearly half of which were first timers. Loewe, as a luxury brand, of course risks diluting its brand image with microdrama, as it is often associated with low production value and shock value in the story.

However, the simple love story, with artistic direction from Loewe, resembles more a vertical video campaign with narrative than a luxury microdrama. This is also likely why it features A-list actors, to avoid being called a microdrama and instead be seen as an “original series”.

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Netizens, however, are less than impressed. Many note that the low marriage rate is not caused by the lack of registration points. Some joked that if the strategy is to rely on “impulse buy” to boost marriages, then they might as well try outside universities or move it online so you can register for marriage like internet banking.

• #多地音乐节可在现场领证结婚 You can register for marriage at music festivals at multiple places in China: 28.66 million views on Weibo, ranking number 9 on the Hot Search list

The change came after China eased its marriage registration process in May. The simplified paperwork eliminated the need for the household registration book (户口本) and removed the requirement to return to one party’s household registration location. The added flexibility means couples can now get married anywhere civil affairs teams are present. China is scrambling to rally marriage and birth rates, with data from the national Ministry of Civil Affairs showing that only 6.11 million couples got married in 2024, a 20% drop from the previous year. Whether the “Vegas-esque” registration push will help still needs to be monitored.

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Like many “abstract” meme-tic posts, especially from a wildcard account like Duolingo’s, not only are followers engaging, but also brands. Alibaba’s AI Tongyi app directly asks in the comment section what it should do now that it’s already with child. To which Duolingo replied: “I’ll take responsibility if the child is mine, otherwise…”. McDonald’s, on the other hand, offers taro pie to the newlyweds, as taro “香芋” and encounter “相遇” are both pronounced “xiangyu”. Duo responds: “Stop sending, I don’t want my mother-in-law to think I only order takeaway and not cook”.

• #多邻国猫头鹰官宣结婚 Owl from Duolingo announces marriage: 9.61 million views on Weibo, ranking number 23 on the Hot Search list

However, for regular social media users, the biggest question remains: “who’s the groom?” The answer has gradually begun to reveal itself after another brand began started teasing. It appears that the most likely groom in this union is Lucky, the deer mascot of Luckin Coffee, a leading coffee chain in China.

From photos of the two mascots’ shadows to asking advice on the “first time getting married” without mentioning Duolingo, Luckin has been teasing the wedding since 3 July. And it also disclosed that the big day is 8 July. While the prize draw indicates the launch of the collaboration drinks will be on 6 July, Rednote users are already posting the exclusive cups. As leaks continue, we might finally see what the “wedding of the century” (as Luckin calls it) will look like.

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The curious and borderline risqué trend took Rednote by storm when a postgraduate entrance exam candidate posted on the platform that she had too much stress and was willing to pay 50 RMB (6.95 USD) for a 5-minute hug with a “man mum”. Not only did the post go viral, but copycats asking for hugs and gym bros taking the opportunity to show off their bodies with the hashtag quickly gained traction. The trend is now called “拼好抱” (share a hug, “拼好”-something is a term often used in carpool and group buys).

Many attribute the trend to the “loneliness epidemic” in China, where people yearn for affection and intimacy but are afraid of relationships and commitment. Others refer to the “男色消费” (female gaze consumption), where women pay for content of good-looking men dancing, hiring male dates for dinner or even just photo-ops, or the most recent “paid hugs”.

However, there is a strong likelihood that much of the related hug with “man mums” content is riding the viral wave on Chinese social media for traffic, and it must be said that in such transactions, women are in a more vulnerable position than the gym bros. The virality suggests that the “transactional” nature of modern affection does have a place in China.

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In addition to the 5 locations, HeyTea also brought its 520 campaign to its branches across China. With a marriage certificate dated 20 May 2025, you can receive offers such as buy one, get one half-price and exclusive 520 magnets. This way, HeyTea could share the celebration with newlyweds across the country.

The “hey” in HeyTea is actually “喜” (xi), meaning happiness in Chinese. Chinese weddings, traditional or modern, almost invariably feature the “double happiness” character “囍” as a form of celebration and well-wishing. It is then no surprise that HeyTea has been leveraging this connection since 2022, giving away drinks outside the Civil Affairs Bureaux across China during special days like 520, Valentine’s Day or even the National Day holiday, where there tends to be a surge in marriage registrations.

HeyTea is well-known for its creative marketing, including providing tea drinks to wedding banquets. This year, HeyTea also launched new packaging for its banquet and catering services. With the younger generations reducing their alcohol intake, tea has become a popular drink for parties in general. Perhaps, providing HeyTea at weddings can also make these events more appealing for the younger generation.

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One of the two special desserts is a Bignè Chantilly decorated in the shape of a swan, the famously monogamous bird that often mates for life, to signify romance for the special day. The other is a box of 16 raspberry pralines, which is closer to sweets than a dessert, but you can take these home and share with your loved one.

The specially curated 520 dinner menu from Prada fuses Italian traditions and Chinese inspirations, with dishes including veal on brioche toast, king crab tartlet, red shrimp tartare on saffron risotto and finishing with the swan Bignè Chantilly. Tables at the Mi Shang Prada Rong Zhai can be reserved on the restaurant’s official mini program.

20 May is an important date on China’s marketing calendar, forming part of a trinity of romantic occasions between Valentine’s Day and Qixi, the “Chinese Valentine’s Day”. It is also the full-price revenue peak before the summer sale, or the 618 Shopping Festival. However, with 618 starting earlier by the year, 520 is somehow diminished, especially this year when 618 began a week before 520. However, luxury brands, which are not as affected by 618 sales, can still afford to be creative with the “I Love You Day” in China.

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For the “I Love You” Day 2025, KFC launched a “Crazy 520 Confession Meal” (疯狂520告白套餐). It may sound like something related to a police interrogation or a Catholic confessional, but “告白” (gaobai, lit. to confession) here means to “Confess” or “profess” your love for someone. The meal includes KFC’s iconic Original Chicken and Pastel de Nata custard tart pastry. More importantly, the 45 RMB (6.24 USD) meal includes a set of two “couple rings” made in the image of a fry and a burger.

The pair of rings comes in a bucket-shaped box that plays KFC’s “Crazy Thursday” sales events theme tune. The box can also project one of the two taglines for this year’s 520 campaign, which are of course, a punny play on words in Chinese. One is “只想‘堡’护你” (just want to protect you, with 保 from 保护, protection, changed to 堡 from 汉堡, hamburger, both pronounced bao). The other is “你‘薯’我的‘堡’” (you’re my precious, with 是 shi, is, replaced by 薯 shu, potato, and 宝 bao, precious, swapped for 堡 bao of burger again).

Once again, KFC has tapped into the “crazy” mood around its marketing and created something romantic. With“KFC toy” (#肯德基玩具#) at number 42 on Weibo’s Hot Search list with 150 million accumulated views, the meme-tic internet culture remains one of the most effective ways to reach younger consumers in China.

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The exhibition, hosted in an outdoor pop-up space tells the story of Graff’s origins, its craftsmanship, as well as its bridal collections. The immersive experience is divided into 4 themed areas. An interactive display in a “craft corridor” showcases Graff’s iconic ring designs and diamond setting techniques. The “promise of time” wing takes visitors on a journey from raw diamond to finished Graff ring, while the “love zone” is a display of bridal dresses constructed like diamond facets.

The time-limited try-on area features Graff’s 4 iconic engagement ring designs: Promise, Icon, Flame and Paragon, so visitors can see how the rings look when worn. Aside from the rings, which are the stars of the show, Graff also had multiple couples’ rings and wedding bands available for those in different stages of their relationships.

Founded by Laurence Graff OBE in 1960, the brand has been a staple on the diamond market and is considered one of the most prestigious jewellery brands. Since May, Graff has been promoting its bridal rings in China with its personal consultancy service. Many luxury brands, including jewellers, are now leveraging the power of pop-up stores and exhibitions to draw interest. Chengdu is gradually becoming the hottest spot for brand activations and the Graff interactive exhibition is the latest of both these trends.

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Launched on 8 May, the 520 campaign from SK-II revolves around the brand’s iconic Facial Treatment Essence. A special gift box has been created for the occasion for those who want to say, “I love you”. With hand-written versions of “You are the one and only” (你是唯一, a song title from the band) and set to music by Mayday, a special promo video was created for the campaign. Frontman Ashin also posted on his social media his interpretation of the “I Love You Day” for SK-II.

• #五月天公开心动对象 Mayday announce their love interest: 84.98 million views on Weibo
• #五月天对我说你是唯一 Mayday tells me I’m the one and only: 26.51 million views on Weibo, ranking number 14 on the Hot Search list

Mayday recently experienced viral success with their Starbucks collaboration for, well, the May Day holiday in China. Some commentators observed that the appointment of Mayday is a departure for SK-II from its usual ambassadors, mostly female celebrities like Tang Wei and Karen Mok. The brand has recently returned to growth after experiencing declining sales since 2023, following the pandemic and the rise of C-beauty competitors. It would seem that SK-II, like Starbucks before them, are trying to woo Millennial consumers (post-80 and post-90 generations) with a dash of Y2K nostalgia, as Mayday, formed in 1997, have been a staple of the Mando-pop sphere since its debut album in 1999.

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Reigning cats and dogs

The pet economy has been one of the hottest topics in the consumer market. In 2024, it was reported that China had more pets than toddlers and babies below the age of 4 for the first time. By 2030, pets will be twice the number of small children. Families with pets are now over 100 million.

In what’s called the era of “pet-keeping 3.0”, pets are becoming “family”, taking on the role of children. For reference, the 1.0 era was of the functional guard dogs or mouser cats, while 2.0 saw better nutrition, health, and quality of life for pets. We have been hearing about pet-friendly shopping and dining for a few years now, and since the Chinese New Year (CNY), travelling with pets is becoming easier than ever. From having your pet in the cabin with a seat on planes to the high-speed train in China trialling pet transportation, all the way to pet-friendly hotels, travelling with pets is becoming increasingly accessible.

Pets not only provide “emotional value” for their humans, but are equally being provided with “emotional value”. Elderly pet care, pet funeral services and pet “schools” that offer daycare and training are all becoming popular. On top of high-end food, healthcare and apparel for pets, the “childcare-like pet-keeping” (育儿式养宠) has birthed over 4.2 million startups as of this January in the pet economy sector. This is partly because the younger generations are more willing to spend money on their pets than on themselves.

From JellyCat to LABUBU

For those who are still willing to spend money on themselves, there is a term called “self-pleasing” (悦己) or “self-care” (宠己), which became Alipay, Alibaba’s payment platform’s word of the year in 2024. Younger consumer cohorts who shop for themselves are usually single, and they buy for their own pleasure instead of for other people, including family. “Emotional value” is also a key term for them.

For many of the “self-pleasing” crowd, collectible “goods” (谷子, meaning merchandise), especially those from POP MART and Jellycat, are especially popular. POP MART, which recently became the number 1 shopping app on the Apple App Store in the United States, has also been seeing long queues outside its stores stateside as well, despite a price hike for its star product, the LABUBU figurines, after its third-generation update. The LABUBU boom has also reached the UK and Thailand, as well as the second-hand market in China.

Meanwhile, the British plush toymaker Jellycat, also popular, is facing a very different situation in China. Its playful and immersive shopping experience with role-play of CAFÉ in Shanghai has caused many an imitator to arise. From museums to brand campaigns, the term “xxx has its own Jellycat” has become a viral phrase.

And everything in between

But lately, another class of plushies is taking the place of both pets and the collectible toy for many young Chinese: “cotton dolls” (棉花娃娃). These plushies are usually “chibi” cutesy styled characters from popular ACGN (anime, comics, games or light novels), as well as live-action film, TV and even celebrities. Collectors usually call these dolls/plushies “babies” (娃), themselves “moms” (娃妈) and their collecting activity as “rearing babies” (养娃). This is a great subversion of the popular terms “娃” and “养娃” often used by parents of small children on social media.

Like the general Chinese “goods” market, the “babies” plushies sector is also a mix of official releases from the IP holders and group buys based on fan art. Like pet owners and toy collectors, and real parents for that matter, these “moms” also fill their social media with their “babies” from everyday life to travel photos. For many, the main cost in the process of “rearing” their babies is the outfits for the dolls to appear in on social media, which is where much of the business is.

Although it might be a hard time for those working in the children-centric sectors, the childless generations are also creating more markets as they grow. From pet owners to toy collectors and doll-mothers, the “emotional value” is always key. With the advent of AI-enabled robots, toys and plushies, the trend might continue growing stronger among Chinese consumers.

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