by Iris Liu (translated by ChatGPT)
27 November 2023
Story brief:
On June 27, 2023, LELECHA, a Chinese tea drink brand, launched four new products. These products feature packaging designed with the vivid and impactful visual language of "madness literature". The packaging evokes scenes of frenzied excitement that inspire a desire to join in. In this noisy atmosphere, people feel free to unapologetically express themselves.
Story in detailed description:
"Who doesn't go a little crazy in life?" is a common tongue-in-cheek remark people make about their mental state when facing obstacles in life, work, or study. Drawing inspiration from this sentiment, LELECHA (https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kVKgZzNi18PhIq3M4G6zhw) chose four comical characters from TV series - Zhang Fei, Li Kui, Ao Bai, and Meng Dan - to feature on their new tea drink packaging. These characters are portrayed in the tone of "madness literature" as part of the product promotion. Besides the unique packaging, LELECHA stores also offered limited-edition oversized snake-skin bags big enough to fit a person, and set up "smash with a hammer" punching bags in 60 stores for customers to experience the thrill of emotional release.
Implication:
"Madness literature" quickly spread among the youth on social networks due to its chaotic and nonsensical logic, exaggerated emotional expressions, and the intense sense of release after venting emotions. LELECHA's "madness" themed new products play along with internet memes, incorporating virtual texts and images into the product itself, bringing people's state of "madness" from social media into real life. This provides a tangible medium for emotional expression. The "mad" tea drinks can become a topic of conversation during casual chats, allow individuals to express their attitude or personality through these uniquely styled milk tea cups, and even help people find like-minded friends, thereby deriving a sense of joy from the emotional value of the tea.
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