General Electric shows innovation with the old

Banking on its GE Works digital campaign last November, General Electric released four new animated videos – three of which are currently shown on a Sina Weibo platform completed with interactive elements like folding a virtual paper plane.Dubbed “Ancient Inventions”, each of the videos features an ancient invention serves to demonstrate GE’s appreciation for Chinese history, its innovative mindset and how the company works to support a better China with new technologies.The videos tell of the stories of paper, silk, wax and ceramics, which is set to debut in February.“Our brand-building campaign in China focuses on demonstrating how GE works with customers and partners in the country,” said Jason Hill, director of advertising for growth markets at GE.“The ‘Ancient Inventions’ videos are a clever way to show how Chinese ingenuity has evolved over the years into some very modern innovations.”Douglas Lin, managing director of TBWA’s Shanghai – the agency in charge of the campaign – added that the new spot solidifies its relationship with the brand.“GE is a cornerstone client for us in China and we are extremely proud of the work to-date, which has really come to life through our great partnership with GE. This new work is a solid first step on which we will build this campaign in 2013.”Media agency in charge is Starcom China.