/PRZWT/What is the Spring Festival?
For those born in the 1950s and 1960s, the Spring Festival is about preparing a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner and gathering the whole family to stay up late praying for blessings. For those born in the 1970s and 1980s, the Spring Festival is a journey filled with expectations, where taking care of the elderly and bringing up the children is no longer a responsibility but a chance to enjoy family reunions and visit relatives. For those born in the 1990s and 2000s, the Spring Festival might be a ticket to let go of oneself, taking a wild trip across the country, or it could be participating in a collective carnival and teasing, allowing the festival to break free from all restrictions and only have its own unique flavor.
Behind this increasingly visible generational disparity is a profound change that is taking place: Chinese Spring Festival is moving from a "single focus" to a "diverse context".
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of domestic tourists during the Spring Festival Golden Week has been increasing year by year. By 2025, it has exceeded 400 million. "Reverse Spring Festival Travel" has become a new trend. More and more elderly people choose to travel from their hometowns to the cities where their children work to reunite with their families. More and more families choose diversified travel and vacation forms in various scenarios and destinations to enjoy the time spent together. And the Spring Festival in 2026 coincided with the hosting of the Winter Olympics, adding a new fashion of "Snowy New Year Celebration" to this Year of the Horse Spring Festival.
In this Spring Festival characterized by "more diverse scenes, richer forms and more diverse appeals", the spiritual core of the celebration for the Chinese people has remained unchanged - the expectation for reunion, the prayer for the new year, and the anticipation for good fortune. And in the Year of the Horse Spring Festival, Mengniu will present these in the most genuine and practical way to the vast number of consumers: "Receiving auspicious omens".
Mengniu "Good Fortune", the most sincere wish and the most practical blessing
In Chinese traditional culture, "colorful rituals" is a long-standing folk psychological phenomenon. Giving lucky charms, praying for good fortune, and seeking auspiciousness - these actions are essentially a form of psychological comfort, providing spiritual support for an uncertain future.
The brilliance of Mengniu lies in the fact that it has transformed this psychological need deeply rooted in people's hearts into a creative, concrete and tangible form.
Firstly, through the fantastical world of the "Tian Gong Color Head Management Department", the abstract concept of "color head" is transformed into three "color head immortals". Li Dan, Luo Jiaying and Wang Xiaoli, through their individualized "color head" performances, make the "receiving of color heads" concrete and turn it into "content with unique highlights and great fun".
Secondly, through the lottery mechanism of both JD and Meituan platforms, the concept of "receiving auspicious signs" has been transformed into a real experience that is participatory, interactive and shareable. Every order placed is a "prayer" for good auspicious signs, and every lottery draw is the "carrier" of receiving good auspicious signs. The activities covering the entire Spring Festival period extend from the online "celestial officials bestowing blessings" to the offline "auspicious signs falling into hands", allowing the New Year expectations of thousands of consumers to be truly realized.
Finally, all the "promises" are genuine New Year gifts. Air tickets for returning home and vouchers for New Year's Eve dinners, tickets to scenic spots in many regions across the country, and souvenir packages for the Winter Olympics... Each expression of year-end yearning is no longer just empty talk of "seeking good luck", but tangible physical benefits that can be "grabbed, brought home, and shared by the entire family". Especially the golden prizes that run throughout the entire period, with genuine gold prizes worth millions of yuan, bring consumers a truly "welcoming good luck" auspicious sign.
While many brands were still trying to charm consumers with "flattering words", Mengniu took advantage of a "visible, tangible and portable" marketing campaign to seize the lead in the Spring Festival market.
The Star Signology Behind the Three "Immortal Officials"
In this year's Spring Festival marketing campaign of Mengniu, the selection of the three "celestial officials" is by no means a simple matter of merely increasing traffic. If analyzed carefully, it can be seen that behind this set of combined strategies lies a meticulously designed "generation communication strategy".
Li Dan, a young "mouth representative" and a person with the "anti-coffee" personality trait, used this image in the "Bring Home the Bonuses" TV commercial to play out the "I play both roles myself" dual role concept. Through the ingenious and amusing way of giving out bonuses, he alleviated the anxiety of "outsiders in the city" about returning home. He delivered the bonuses to the eager young people at the beginning of the Spring Festival.
Luo Jiaying, the "mediator of life and emotions". His characteristic "constant rambling" precisely serves as an auditory symbol of the care from elders in Chinese families. In the "Starting a Happy Year" TV commercial, Luo Jiaying leads a white horse through the world, presenting scenic area tickets to families who received Mengniu New Year gifts. This "concern hidden in the constant reminiscing" and "companionship of setting off together" constitute the dual dimensions of family emotions in Chinese culture: Love is not only the tireless reminders but also the silent companionship.
Wang Xiaoli, the "Joy Bean" of the masses. As a "national comedian", his distinctive Northeast accent, humorous face, and sincere yet sophisticated acting style were fully displayed in the TV commercial "Receiving the Winter Olympics Preparations". Especially the catchy and memorable line "Receiving, receiving, receiving, receiving" left a deep impression. When the Winter Olympics met the Spring Festival, when passion collided with festivity, Wang Xiaoli became the bridge connecting these two emotions.
The combination of these three stars not only has distinct individual identities, but also, through the "receiving the blessing" creative format of Mengniu, has covered the cognitive horizons of the old, middle-aged, and young generations. There is resonance, there are memories, and there is also a sense of closeness - thus, Mengniu quietly incorporated everyone into its brand narrative.
Beyond the content interpretation presented through the series of TV commercials, "The Celestial Official of Colorful Gifts" truly delivered the colorful gifts directly to all consumers across the internet. On February 5th, Li Dan, in his capacity as "The Celestial Official of Colorful Gifts", landed on the official live streaming room of Meituan, taking this content co-creation to a new level. During the live stream, various amusing sharing and interactive contents were presented, offering the audience a joyful "tea party" before the New Year; in front of the screen, thousands of consumers celebrated the "golden joy" moments of the arrival of the Spring Festival and the Winter Olympics. This live stream had a viewing volume of over 10.49 million, a maximum online audience of 25,000, and an interaction volume of over 300,000. The significance of these data lies in: it proves that the value of the "Colorful Gifts Celestial Official" IP is not only in content dissemination, but also in its ability to effectively transform into in-depth user interaction and immediate consumption.
Breaking through time and space for a "dialogue between the past and the present"
If the TVCs of the three celebrities can be regarded as the "content trigger points" on the online platform, then the "Horse Racing" theme lighting display at Kaifeng Qingming Shanghe Garden is the "cultural anchor point" in the offline world.
As night fell, both banks of the Bian River and the bridge above were filled with tourists. Hundreds of drones took off simultaneously, like a river of stars, outlining the images of "Fortune Cow", "Prosperity Cow" and "Luck Cow" in the night sky. The mascot of Mengniu, "Niu Mengmeng", soared into the air, complementing the theme light show on the ground. Subsequently, blessings such as "Be Strong and Start with a Good Beginning" and "In the Year of the Horse, Be a Cow" gradually unfolded in the night sky.
This is a meticulously planned "time-space compression".
In terms of space, Qingming Shanghe Garden recreates the appearance of the ancient capital of the Song Dynasty, carrying the cultural imagination of the Chinese people for "prosperous times". Mengniu's lighting installation is the most contemporary brand visual symbol. When these two meet, they complete a dialogue spanning thousands of years.
In terms of time, the Spring Festival of the Year of Horse is the current moment. The drone light show is the most cutting-edge technological expression. The combination of traditional festivals and modern technology has not only added cultural depth to the "yearning for the New Year" but also brought a fresh touch of technology.
In terms of symbols, "auspicious omens" is the oldest Chinese folk psychological concept, while "the horse and the ox" is the latest brand blessing phrase. The combination of these two elements enables consumers to pray for blessings while also establishing an emotional connection with the brand.
So, when tourists stand in the Qingming Shanghe Park and look up at the drone display of the word "Niu Meng Meng", what they experience is not just a brand event, but also a ritual of cultural identification. As sociologist Randall Collins said: Rituals create emotional resonance, and emotional resonance forms group unity. When thousands of tourists take photos with the "Zhu Ma Niu" lanterns in the Qingming Shanghe Park, they complete a collective certification of "good luck in the Year of the Horse". And when these wonderful moments are "perceived, recorded, and shared", "Receiving Good Fortune, Zhu Ma Niu" becomes the most representative label and footnote of this Spring Festival.
Enhance the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival
As time goes by and with the changes of the times, the sense of ceremony of the Spring Festival has quietly undergone changes. The ban on setting off fireworks and firecrackers has made "no sounds to be heard", WeChat greetings have replaced "visiting relatives and friends", and the New Year dinner has changed from "being cooked at home" to "ordering a restaurant"... Each generation is complaining about the "dimmer flavor of the New Year", but each generation is also creating new flavors of the New Year in their own way.
The value of Mengniu's "Strong Start" campaign lies in its contribution to the construction of the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
On the one hand, there is the sense of satisfaction from "for oneself". Traditional shopping for New Year goods was a task-oriented process - making a list, visiting the market, and carrying home large and small packages. Mengniu designed the mechanism of "buying products = winning a prize" to add "anticipation" and "surprise" to the act of purchasing New Year goods. At the moment of placing an order, consumers are not only buying products but also "buying a chance to win". This psychological shift has transformed the act of New Year goods shopping from a "task" to a "ritual".
On the other hand, there is the sense of achievement from "helping others". In Chinese culture, during the New Year, it is customary to exchange gifts "in a reciprocal manner". However, gift-giving often becomes a formality, and everyone tacitly fulfills the social task. Mengniu, through the integration of the "Colorful Heavenly Official" IP, has given a new meaning to the act of giving gifts: giving Mengniu is giving good luck; receiving Mengniu is receiving good luck. This transformation from an actual action to a psychological resonance has given the originally formulaic gift-giving a new warmth.
A memory unique to the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival marketing campaigns occur every year, but very few of them are remembered.
Why do most Spring Festival marketing campaigns get forgotten? Because they merely "hijacked" the Spring Festival as a timing point, but failed to "participate" in the construction of the Spring Festival rituals. After consumers watched the short videos and received the coupons, they quickly forgot about the brand's existence.
The valuable aspect of Mengniu's "strong start" strategy lies in the fact that it has truly integrated itself into the Chinese people's Spring Festival lifestyle.
When the wanderer uses the delivered air ticket on the way home, when parents and children enter Disney with the drawn tickets to enjoy the laughter, when a family shares the same souvenirs to cheer for the Winter Olympics athletes in front of the TV and shares the glory together, when a genuine and precious gift becomes the golden signal of good luck for the New Year - at these moments, Mengniu is no longer "the brand in the advertisement", but "a clear indication of sincere blessings". This might be the ultimate form of brand companionship - not telling consumers "what you should do", but appearing at every moment when they want to obtain happiness and joy.
This is precisely what the French sociologist Baudrillard called "consumption symbolization": Consumers no longer purchase the practical value of the goods, but rather the meanings they carry. When Mengniu milk is endowed with the meaning of "good luck", it transforms from an ordinary item on the shelves to a "lucky item" in the narrative of the Spring Festival.
From the "moon-like glow" twinkling in the night sky of the Qingming Shanghe Park, to the "virtual toast" shared by Li Dan in his live stream; from the outing plans mentioned by Luo Jiaying to the "keep coming" remarks of Wang Xiaoli - these moments converge into a common understanding - in this Year of the Ox Spring Festival, Mengniu is not just milk, but also that genuine experience of "receiving auspiciousness and getting the bull right away".
And this, perhaps, is the ultimate goal of brand marketing: not only to be noticed and remembered, but also to become a part of consumers' pleasant memories, a carrier of their good wishes, and a psychological coordinate closely linked to "good luck".
