Olay's "Besties" new year campaign champions the importance of friendship in women's lives

Olay has launched a video on Weibo as part of a new 2020 campaign, celebrating "special relationships" in women's lives.

With a brand statement of being “fearless of age”, the video presents three narratives selected from thousands of user-generated stories about the support offered by long-term friendships.

The first of three plotlines features a bridesmaid who gets given a flower bouquet by her best friend the bride, wishing her to have a partner in future. The second shows a single mom's business supported by her best friend. The third tells the tale of a marketing director who finds out that it doesn’t have to be lonely at the office.

A special hashtag attached to the film plays on the Mandarin pronunciation of 2020, which sounds like “Love You”. The hashtag also serves as a motivation for others to share their stories.

"We are no longer looking at individual stories for being fearless of age, instead we are thanking that special someone who is there for you and whom you think of during a time of reflection and this often takes place at the start of the New Year," commented Christopher Lee, group creative director of Grey Hong Kong.

In addition, Olay has collaborated with Marie Claire to produce a photo template, inviting netizens to upload photos with their best buds and celebrate their friendships. Over 6,000 influencers joined the campaign by developing their social media posters with the Marie Claire template design.

“This campaign placed a new lens on celebrating 'fearless of age'. By celebrating the special person that helped you be fearless in the face of anything, we were able to take a unique occasion in 2020 to create a purposeful campaign," said Kim Hyoeun, vice president of P&G Greater China, skin care - Olay.

Marketing's take? Rather than pitting women against each other or to see age as an enemy faced alone, we can appreciate how this campaign is a pretty heartwarming fistbump to people supporting each other. Can't see a problem with that.

Credit List

GREY Hong Kong
Chief executive officer Jenmon Yuen Jenkins
Group creative director Christopher Lee
Creative director Flora Tsui
Associate creative director Alan Wong
Senior copywriter Mia Gao
Assistant art director Sy Choi
Head of TV production John Lo
Business partner Duffy Lau
Associate account director Ivan Tang
Account manager Jamie Wong

P&G Greater China, Skin Care – Olay
President, Greater China Olay & Personal Care and Global Safeguard SK Lee
Vice president Hyoeun Kim
General manager Victor Leung
Communication director Vivian Lee
Associate brand director Vera Zhong
Brand manager Stephen Huang