“In Shanghai in 1992, some people became rich overnight and some returned to zero in half a day.”
Po, played by Hu Ge in the trailer of “Flowers”, uses this monologue to tell the story of the changes in Shanghai in the 1990 s, telling the story of Po’s business war in China from a small person to a general manager under the background of the development of Shanghai’s capital market and foreign trade.
On December 27 last year, this adaptation of the Mao Dun Literature Award-winning work by writer Jin Yucheng was officially broadcast. Halfway through the broadcast process, audience friends discovered that “Flowers” is not only a business war drama with excellent content and meticulous plot, but also a very sophisticated fashion drama.
Source: “Flowers” stills
In today’s era of Internet traffic, a film and television drama that can be labeled as a “classic” can not only gain great attention and reputation, but also often bring high commercial exposure value, and even drive a new “aesthetic trend”.
According to the data of Lighthouse Professional Edition, on January 4, the popularity of the opening drama “Flowers” broke 30000, becoming the fourth largest drama in Tencent Video Explosions Club. At the same time, the average broadcast index of its latest episode also became the first in the current December new drama.
“Flowers” has become a topic of “national hot discussion” on major social media platforms. On the third day of its broadcast, the microblog index was close to 0.37 billion. As one of the leading actors, Hu Ge’s personal microblog index reached 0.42 billion, with only 0.2 billion views of the discussion label about flowers on the Little Red Riding Book platform. The dramatic plot has also become the “mental dopamine” that audiences urgently need in this era of growing anxiety “.
In addition to the discussion about the plot, the audience also had a heated discussion about the phenomenon of up to 10 advertisements in an episode. In fact, the same style of the major brands that mark the Shanghai style tone in the play is opening a new marketing paradigm of “flowers with the same style” in and out of the play, and the supply is in short supply.
Source: “Flowers” stills
### The more classic, the more fashionable
### Top-stream film and television repertoire activates the “aesthetic trend” of the times”
The characters in the classic film and television repertoire and the scenes with story and sense of substitution always impress people after many years. For example, whether it is the fashionable dress in Manhattan in the 1990 s in “Sex and the City” broadcast in 1998, the fashionable dress-up clip of the female owner in “The Devil Wearing Prada” released in 2006, or the dress styles of various characters in “Tiny Times” released in 2013, they will still be taken out as classic cases of fashion aesthetics and dress-up after many years.
“The Devil Wearing Prada” stills Photo Source: Douban
In recent years, HBO’s business war financial drama “War of Inheritance” has also made “Quiet Luxury” and “Old Money Style” an annual fashion trend. This has also indirectly driven luxury brands such as Ralph Lauren Zibiao, The Row, Brunello Cucinelli and Loro Piana, which are tailored with low-key minimalism and quality, and have become textbook-level pronouns for this style.
“War of Inheritance” stills photo source: Douban
“Flowers” released at the end of 2023 will bring the public’s attention back to Shanghai in the 1990 s. The director of this play is Wong Kar-wai, who is good at using light, shadow and color to create an atmosphere. His representative works include “The Grandmaster”, “Mong Kok Carmen”, “In the Mood for Love”, etc., and he has also successfully shaped the classic oriental “Hong Kong style” aesthetic trend. “Flowers” in the era of Chinese society has the germination of fashion genes, which also gives Wong Kar-wai a lot of room to play in the level of costumes and props.
“in the mood for love” stills photo source: watercress
Under the blessing of Wong Kar-wai’s aesthetic lens comparable to fashion pictorial, Hu Ge’s Po, as a successful business tycoon in the 1990 s, wears a custom-made suit and lives in the British suite of Peace Hotel. From the character image to the elegant style, it is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The restoration of the “Shanghai style tone” by the elements such as the same style of clothing and Vintage accessories of the characters in the play has set off a discussion on the trend of retro aesthetics among experts, scholars and the general public.
Source: “Flowers” stills
### “Haipai Wear” Gains Attention Again
### How does fashion styling add points to the role?
The 1990 s were in the golden age of China welcoming new things to the world, and Shanghai was at the center of opening up to the outside world. Under the collision of Chinese and Western cultures, it formed a cutting-edge and unique fashion trend.
In the video interpreting what is “Shanghai style dress”, fashion editor and brand manager @ VERONICA quoted a recorded image of China’s first Shanghai socialite fashion show in 1929, and pointed out: “Shi Huizhen (Song Qingling’s best friend) is wearing an improved half-sleeve cheongsam skirt, introducing modern Chinese women’s modern dress in English. The skirt style is western, but the high collar and pattern are Chinese.” She believes that the “combination of Chinese and Western” in Shanghai style is the essence, and the mix and match that Shanghai girls are good at can even be regarded as the early “new Chinese style”.
The influence of Chinese and Western aesthetics, the avant-garde and independence of women, in the “flowers” of the characters dressed in the show. The luxurious fur and exaggerated sunglasses worn by Li Li, played by Xin Zhilei, show the noble and mysterious spirit of the female boss. Ling Zi, played by Ma Yili, reflects her warm and generous character with mixed and matched clothes of various colors. Dressed in the popular Pierre Cardin coat and expensive Cartier accessories, it also reflects the shrewd and worldly side. Miss Wang, played by Tang Yan, loves to wear elegant leather windbreaker shoes and Mary Jane’s head, it also portrays the image of China’s early civil servants as fashionable and capable.
Source: “Flowers” stills
In addition to the wonderful and diverse group portraits of women in the 1990 s, Po played by Hu Ge was the “most acclaimed” Haitian business tycoon of that year. In the first episode of the play, the first lesson that Uncle “Ningbo Old Master” taught his apprentice Po is “Shanghainese do business, pay attention to style, gimmicks and signs.” Starting from the British suite of the Peace Hotel as an office, the first thing uncle asked for in the custom suit was to pay attention to the fabric, which must be made of English and pure wool. In summer, use Pellis and Veliding, and in winter, flannel, gaberding, and shevey, all only English tweed.
The suit should be a three-piece suit, double-breasted buttons, and wool for shoulder pads. Pay attention to the style of “wearing a suit requires people to dress, not people to wear clothes. The Giorgio Armani is the driving force behind the shaping of Po’s “business elite man”. According to VOGUE Business, Hu Ge has two suits in the play from the Giorgio Armani Made to Measure, which is also the brand’s highest-standard tailor-made service.
Source: “Flowers” stills
In other scenes of “Flowers”, the Giorgio Armani also provided single items such as black coats and velvet suits, which vividly demonstrated the multi-faceted modeling and charm of Shanghai men in the 1990 s. The brand also sponsored a set of double-breasted velvet suit for actor Tang Yan at the TV premiere.
In fact, the tradition of “tailor-made” costumes for movies and TV plays has won a high degree of discussion for Giorgio Armani over the years: as early as 1980, the brand designed the classic Power Suit power suit lapel suit for the main character of the film “American Dancer” and made a name for its subsequent entry into the US market.
Mr. Armani himself once said when elaborating on the design: “my goal is to make young women (men) more powerful and enterprising. Even young girls (boys) do not regard themselves as weak and naive, but look mature and stable.”
Source: The film “American gigolo”
Giorgio Armani’s concept of bringing the temperament image to be displayed in costumes into the design, the modeling can naturally fit the characters without the stiff feeling of advertisement implantation. As Zhang Ailing said: “Clothes are a kind of language, carrying a pocket drama with you.” The different interpretations of Shanghai style in “Flowers” make the characters more plump and three-dimensional, and also reveal the reason why Shanghai was called “Oriental Paris” through fashionable clothes.
### In and out of the play, the marketing code of “natural implantation” of film and television marketing
According to the Blue Whale Financial Report, “Flowers” currently has up to 10 advertisements in an episode, including the first broadcast of the play, the previous review, the opening and closing of the film, the middle and creative advertisements, as well as the officially announced sponsored advertisements such as Estee Lauder, Remy Head and Pepsi.
The custom-made suit in the play marked the beginning of Bao’s business in Shanghai. Apart from Giorgio Armani, the red tailor mentioned in the lines was also on fire. Wang Xiaofang, the sixth-generation head of the Red Gang tailor Wang Xingchang’s foreign clothing store, said recently that fans who come to customize the play all want to order their own “same style of” Flowers “.
In the 1990 s, business men showed “style” by customizing suits, while women won envious eyes because “this is Estee Lauder. This year coincides with the 30th anniversary of Estee Lauder Group’s entry into the Chinese market. Estee Lauder, a brand of the same name, opened its first sales counter in the mainland in Shanghai in 1993. This plot setting is just in line with the real historical background of the brand’s layout in China.
Source: “Flowers” stills
Compared with the facial color obvious makeup, skin care products in the film and television drama “natural implantation” slightly more difficult. As early as 2016, when the Korean drama “Descendants of the Sun” exploded, starring Song Hye Kyo frequently took out air cushions to make up, and the audience complained that the brand logo was exposed too much. In order to be more in line with the plot, the products and advertising posters used by Estee Lauder in the play all strive to restore the effect of that year. For example, Min Min, played by Zeng Meihuizi, used the precious Estee Lauder platinum lipstick, the window of the Peace Hotel where Bao Zong is located, and the Linghong boutique played by Papi sauce, displaying the first bottle of “sky-high price” cream-Estee Lauder platinum cream.
In addition, the Estee Lauder brand can cause such a high degree of discussion, but also lies in the brand official follow the advancement of the plot, timely interaction with the public on social media. Since the launch of “Flowers”, Estee Lauder’s microblog has been updated frequently. It mainly intercepts the fragments of the products in the play into short videos, and the copywriting is matched with the high-gloss quotations of the characters. The overall publicity is consistent with the plot and not abrupt.
Source: “Flowers” stills
On January 8, Estee Lauder also announced that Ma Yili, who plays the role of Lingzi in “Flowers”, has become the brand’s skin care ambassador, making the marketing from inside to outside the play naturally linked up. In fact, re-winning sound volume in the country is the top priority of the Estee Lauder brand. In the first quarter performance report of Estee Lauder Group’s fiscal year 2024, it was pointed out that the overall recovery of high-end beauty products in mainland China was lower than expected, and there was a decline in this quarter. Becoming the official sponsor of “Flowers” may be the beginning of the Estee Lauder brand’s hope to get out of “silence.
Not only fashion clothing and beauty makeup, but also the other area that has been fired by “Flowers” comes from luxury hotels and service industries. Peace Hotel, the office of “Bao Zong” in the play, has recently become a clock-in point for consumers to experience the trend of retro. It is reported that the original Peace Hotel “72 British Suite” directly changed its name to “British Flower Suite”. The price of a suite for one night has also risen from 15,930 yuan to 16,888 yuan. The other nine-country suites of the same size are priced at only about 12,000 yuan, and the UK suites have been booked in the last three days.
Photo source: Ctrip
Under this situation, Peace Hotel conveniently introduced a customized meal for two under the joint name of “Flowers”. Among them, the names of dishes such as “Shrimp Shrimp Nong and Crab Crab You” (Crab Powder Crystal River Shrimp) and “Miss Wang’s Heart Love” (Rib Rice Cake) are all from the plot. The set price is 1460 yuan, with a 16.6 service charge. The play includes the prototype of the “Zhizhen Garden”-the Tessan Garden Hotel, the Butterfly Crisp of the International Hotel, and the Cantonese Museum.
Source: “Flowers” stills
If you are “discouraged” by the above-mentioned expensive hotels and restaurants, you can also follow the “Flowers” location line made by netizens to have a no-cost City Walk on weekends. For example, Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum officials passed an article last week reviewing the 27 Bund where Miss Wang works.
On January 5, Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum officially released the article “punch in the same location of” flowers “and watch the art museum in the foreign trade building to show the story of Shanghai”. Photo source: Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum Public Number
It is not difficult to see that an excellent film and television work is omni-directional in driving various industries of clothing, food, housing and transportation, and well-funded enterprises can provide official sponsorship by “betting” in the early stage. however, small brands can also appropriately cater to consumers’ preferences by timely grasping the trends of consumers, and take advantage of the “east wind” of film and television to get out of the circle.
However, no matter what form of marketing it is, it is necessary to return to the two major issues of “whether the implantation is natural” and “whether the product service matches the price”-the former tests the brand marketing department’s understanding of the plot and role, and needs to bring the product into the drama scene for “dynamic” thinking; The latter reflects the mentality of the operators, and the price increase beyond the value of the product service itself is sometimes even counterproductive.
In today’s increasingly expensive traffic, model product implantation has been unable to impress picky consumers. In and out of the play, brands should make use of the natural topic degree of the plot to continuously promote and innovate, so as to realize the mode of film and television driving the integration of product and effect. The phenomenal popularity created by “Flowers” in the opening year of 2024 has undoubtedly opened up new ideas for win-win cooperation between business and film and television.
(Source: Vogue Business)
