Chinese products often struggle against global behemoths in luxury markets. In order to compete, domestic skincare brand Maysu has enlisted some serious Chinese celebrity power to sell its ginseng seed spray in a new TVC. The ad stars Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, who has endorsed the brand since 2009, and is directed by Wong Kar-wai, the filmmaker behind In the Mood for Love, 2046 and kung fu flick The Grandmaster, which was recently re-released in 3D.
The commercial begins with a title announcing that it’s a “王家卫作品”, a Wong Kar-wai production. This text is essential because the ad is profoundly conventional, leaving Wong’s influence almost totally invisible.
The Maysu ad stays true to the brand’s name, Chinese for ‘pale beauty’, with Shu Qi wearing a white gown adorned with white feathers moving through sets of white clouds and white sakura. White CGI flowers open and a white peacock fans its tail and offers Shu a ginseng seed. There is a somewhat lyrical quality to the cinematography, with ample movement, bright white light, and soft focus, but the choice of bland pop rock guitar and obvious locations — Shanghai’s Bund, the Lujiazui skyline, and a glimpse of the 1933 abattoir — make the ad instantly forgettable.
Perhaps Wong’s talents were simply constrained by the process: unimaginative creative and a shooting time far shorter than his infamously long feature films. (2046 took five years to shoot, working on and off). Perhaps he didn’t really take the initiative needed to elevate the material. Either way, there seems little point in engaging such a big name director if his talent is not apparent in the final work.
Wong has struggled to stamp his mark on commercials in the past, as he did in a 2007 spot for Christian Dior’s Midnight Poison, starring Eva Green, which gets by on the anthemic soundtrack “Space Dementia” by English rock band Muse.
The Maysu ad’s underutilization of Wong’s skill is especially disappointing thinking back to his incredible use of white in The Grandmaster. During the first train station battle, fought in a flurry of snow with clouds of steam issuing from an engine resting alongside, blades draw long strings of cotton from the fighters’ stuffed winter coats. It’s imagery that’s utterly beautiful, and uniquely Chinese — just what Maysu wants.
CREDITS
Client: Jala Cosmetics Group
Product: Maysu Ginseng Seed Spray
Agency: Air Paris
Market: China
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Talent: Shu Qi
Creative director: Tho Van Tran
Art director: Fifi Tsang
Copywriter: Rainbow Ying
Strategy and planning Nora: Ladghem
Account manager: Helen Zhu
很多国产的护肤品牌会认为，如果要走进高端市场与国际大牌抗衡，最简单直接的做法就是多砸钱在包装和市场宣传上。重金邀请明星与名导制作一部高大上的广告片给公关宣传和名气提供了一条捷径。上海护肤品牌“美素”为旗下的“人参水”打造的一部名为《再生》的最新电视广告，豪华的阵容里包括了自2009年就为其品牌代言人的明星舒淇，以及香港导演王家卫。
向来作品求精不求多的王大导至目前为止在超过二十多年的导演生涯里仅导演过十一电影，而导演过的电视广告就更加屈指可数，难怪广告片头很自豪地烙下了“王家卫作品”字样。但是在此片中你可以忘掉《春光乍泄》的浓烈及不羁、忘掉《重庆森林》的都市迷幻，忘掉《花样年华》的唯美身段， 《再生》淹没了王家卫的独特画面与个性风格。
片子在基调上配合了“美素”的名字：美丽+素白。片里出现了大量的白色元素：舒淇身穿高贵的白色长裙，背景是白色的飞絮、还有白色的云海、白樱花和白孔雀，充足的明亮白光和柔和的对焦都旨在刻画抒情浪漫的意境。但是上海滩的实景过分清晰，而“仙境里”的人参花、樱花和孔雀等的CGI痕迹又过分明显，两者没有过渡地拼接在一起就马上令画面显得生硬。选择流行摇滚吉他作配乐，也是让人意外。
对于一位具有强烈个人风格的导演交出这样的作品，我们只能猜想他可能受到了制作流程和预算的限制；又或者对于一位“慢工出细货”的导演（类如电影《2046》从拍摄到上映一共花了五年时间），一条90秒的广告片确实太具挑战性了；我们甚至猜想导演没有强烈地去要求修片。但无论哪种原因，像王家卫这样的一张王牌却没有好好的运用，感觉可惜。
其实王家卫对 “白色”主调的把握已经达至大师级。看一下他的最新作品《一代宗师》里对“白色”的运用 – 特别车站打斗中的那幕：同样有大量的慢镜，白色雪蒸与空中飞扬的白雪的画面美得让人窒息，功夫的动作设计流畅而精彩，完全体现了中国武侠片的独特之处。而“美素”的“白色”是美丽的，但却绝不是大师级的。
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