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The SOHO Galaxy

SOHO China

Issue 27 | June 2013

Agency

Ogilvy Shanghai and Ogilvy Beijing

Creative Team

Chief Creative Officer Graham Fink Executive Creative Directors Dirk Eschenbacher Francis Wee Creative Directors Fiona Chen Rocky Hao Thomas Zhu Head of Copy Kweechee Lam Art Directors Fiona Chen Stephen Zhong Copywriters Martin Latham Ray Hao Elaine Jin

Production Team

Production Credits Jeffery Wong Anthony Lee Vivian Wu Account Director Larry Jin

Date

November 2012

Background

SOHO China was one of the country’s largest real estate developers, owned and managed by Pan Shiyi and his wife Zhang Xin.

Their success was largely due to their unceasing desire to innovate. Their latest building was the futuristic-looking SOHO Galaxy. As well as wanting to sell space within the development to high-net worth professionals, the company wanted to declare itself an enemy of China’s ‘copycat’ culture, which the founders saw as being damaging to the long-term future of China’s creative industries.

Idea

Most people believe the first monkey in space was Albert II, launched by the USA on June 14th 1949. He died on his return to earth when his parachute failed.

However, a series of videos from SOHO China informed the Chinese people that there had been a monkey in space two years earlier. Abo had been launched into space from China but when he failed to return, the mission was presumed to have failed and the story hushed up.

However, in 2012 Abo returned to tell the story of his capture by aliens and, now able to speak, to bring a message to his people. That without creativity China could never achieve its potential.

The campaign unfolded in three parts.

First, a teaser campaign saw pictures and videos uploaded to Weibo (Chinese Twitter) and Youku (Chinese YouTube) of UFO sightings and one video of a zookeeper reporting all his monkeys kept looking up and pointing to the sky.

Second, a beam of light was seen to illuminate the SOHO Galaxy building and CCTV picked up images of something, someone in a space suit.

Thirdly, Abo gave an exclusive interview in the SOHO Galaxy building, explaining he had returned at a pivotal point in China’s history to urge his country to innovate.

This was followed by a live debate with a studio audience, chaired by big-name TV personality Tiger Hu with Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin on the panel alongside Abo.

Results

Abo’s various appearances received millions of views, inspiring thousands to join an online debate about creativity and originality in China.

By the end of the campaign, all 330,000 square meters of SOHO Galaxy had been sold, proving people were not only speaking up for originality in China, but investing in it.

Our Thoughts

What is quite difficult to appreciate here in the West is how potentially dangerous this campaign was, not just for Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin but for its principal author, Graham Fink.

The Chinese national congress was in session as the campaign broke and being lectured on how to create a viable future for the country was not something the leadership had indicated they enjoyed.

In his past, Graham was responsible for some great ads, including British Airways “Face”, a 60-second epic. But here he is twenty years later, working with his teams to create 60 minutes of content – or more. And sparking an online debate in which tens of thousands of voices were raised.

I don’t suppose Graham pines for the old days for a moment. Advertising has never been as interesting or as exciting as it is right now.