The Thinking
Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is the largest and most important celebration among the Chinese people in Asia. However, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, large traditional gatherings to celebrate this occasion had to be cancelled, and as people were only allowed to meet in small groups. Even then, people had to distance themselves socially.
Keeping that in mind, the distillery team saw an opportunity to honour a longstanding Chinese New Year tradition in 2021 – the giving of hong bao – in a socially safe way.
Hong bao is a red envelope with cash inside. It is a form of well wishes that’s given to family members and close friends during Chinese New Year. The giving of hong bao is a familiar ritual across East and South-East Asian cultures. With social distancing in mind, distillery came up with a simple, fun idea: to create a long hong bao that would ensure safe distancing, while keeping to tradition.
The Making
We created 88 one metre-long red envelopes for people to give out while keeping a safe distance from one another during Chinese New Year festivities. Since the hong baos were to be given out in Singapore, we designed the envelopes with the precise measurement of one metre, the legal requirement for social distancing in Singapore. To celebrate the year of the Ox, we also designed the envelope with the artwork of an Ox, stretching its long horns from end to end.
The Blowing Up
Apart from the physical hong baos that were made, we also created a Chinese New Year greeting in the form of a comical video featuring the hong bao packet. A QR code on the red envelope directed people to watch the video.
Although we sent the majority of the red packets to clients, we also made sure there were enough available to anyone who wanted this unique memorabilia. The unique concept was even picked up and featured on Campaign Asia, Adobo Magazine, and Campaign Brief.
The Positive Impact
Our goal for this project was simply to put a smile on the faces of our clients and their families during the pandemic, but the long hong baos went the extra mile. Well received by all our clients and potential clients, the hong baos brought new business opportunities and projects to distillery. And despite plans for distribution in Singapore only, people from around the world who had heard about this were requesting to get their hands on one.