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Explorer Ed Stafford Takes a Trip to Shanghai in Chevrolet China Campaign from McCann Shanghai

26/01/2023
Advertising Agency
Shanghai, China
184
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The campaign is a collaboration between Chevrolet China and Discovery, featuring English explorer, Ed Stafford

The collaboration between Chevrolet China and Discovery is now in its sixth year. Contrary to the grand narrative advertising style of previous years, this winter, Chevrolet partnered with McCann China to invite Ed Stafford, famous from the third season of ‘First Man Out’, to bring a humorous and unique campaign to Chinese consumers, announcing the official debut of the Chevrolet Equinox Exploration’s limited edition.

Ed Stafford is an English explorer, with around 5 million followers on Bilibili and Tiktok in China. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the first human ever to walk the length of the Amazon River.

In 2012, Ed filmed a three-part special for the Discovery Channel where he was dropped on the uninhabited tropical island of Olorua, in the Pacific, for 60 days, with no food or equipment to help him survive.The documentary show ‘Ed Stafford: Naked and Marooned’ depicts a hard-core image of Ed, often starving for three or four days at a time, earning him the nickname ‘Hungry Ed’ by Chinese fans.

"We felt that Stafford, with his strength, stamina and endurance, would be the perfect match for the Chevrolet Equinox that is equally robust, whatever the terrain, ” said Vincent Fang, brand director of SAIC-GM’s Chevrolet business, “Equinox is a high-performance SUV that give consumers a strong sense of security and safety. We aim for it to be the vehicle of choice for consumers who love the freedom to explore."

The campaign commenced at the end of November, with Ed releasing behind-the-scenes clips of the third season of ‘First Man Out’, on his TikTok account. Shortly before Christmas, the five-minute full version behind-the-scenes highlights was released.

Behind the BTS video

Yaho Yeh, ECD of McCann’s Shanghai Chevrolet team explained "The target audience for the whole campaign is the fan group of Ed and the Discovery Channel. The message to them is super simple: Stafford is such a valiant and courageous man, and Chevrolet gives him super robust support. We took a relaxed and fun behind-the-scenes approach for this Stafford campaign, with all of the participants in the BTS video improvising, so the final film feels as authentic as a documentary."

After confirming the IP collaboration between the show and Ed, the creative team combed Ed’s social media accounts for more inspiration. They found so many fans engaging with Ed and sharing their suggestions and questions, but Ed hardly ever responded! This inspired the creative direction to shoot a BTS video ‘responding to the fans’ .

A Chevrolet to be cleaned

As the behind-the-scenes videos went online one by one, the dirty Chevrolet Equinox featured in the video, drove through the clean and tidy streets of Shanghai, attracting amount of attention from passers-by.

After arousing all kinds of suspicions during the Christmas holidays, this Chevrolet Equinox was parked on the entrance slope of a key shopping mall in Shanghai for a pop-up exhibition.

This also included various small objects that Ed used when recording the programme, of special interest for people who love nature and the outdoors. A blade made of stone, Ed’s combat boots, a jungle lizard... to increase engagement, there are also some clues hidden at the scene, to encourage people to scan the QR code to watch Ed’s video. Viewers could even pick up a water gun and participate in a car washing game.

Across the whole campaign, from teaser videos to creating suspense in Shanghai’s downtown area, online and offline releases of limited editions, to the pop-up event triggering discussions and social buzz, a Chevrolet Equinox that needs to be cleaned is smartly embedded into the story from the beginning to the end.

"My favourite part of this campaign is the creative idea of the behind-the-scenes footage, which breaks through usual styles of entertainment marketing, and is truly eye-catching. Thanks to the generous support and trust of our clients, we could create a fully-integrated campaign far away from normal advertisements.” said Henry Ho, general manager of McCann’s Shanghai Chevrolet team, said, “From the social engagements with Ed fans, to the offline pop-up event, we hope that consumers can resonate with the spirit, and understand more about the robust support that Chevrolet can provide."

Credits
Work from McCann China
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