Budweiser toasts to Chinese New Year

The 2018 Chinese New Year celebration in New York was kicked off by Budweiser with a campaign calling for the younger Chinese generation to renew their appreciation for their families' understanding and support on their way to pursing their dreams.

This year, Budweiser partnered with China internet giant Tencent to showcase the social topic of the generation gap between Chinese youth and their parents at its Chinese New Year celebration campaign in New York on Thursday.

In conjunction with the event, Tencent published a white paper titled "Are parents our outsiders: annual survey on WeChat timelines."

According to the survey, more than half of young Chinese people have blocked their parents on social networks, while nearly 80 percent of parents look forward to reading every tweet on their children's timeline.

Tencent's chief consumer insight officer Letitia Li said the results of the survey revealed the misunderstanding and miscommunication between Chinese youths and their parents.

"Now, maybe it is the time for us to ponder: Should we start inviting our parents back to our lives, and show them our appreciation?" she said.

Lang Ping, head coach of China women's national volleyball team, and her daughter, Lydia Bai, were invited to share their family stories. As a mother, Lang supports Bai in the way of growing up and helps her stick to pursuing her dreams; as the daughter of a national hero, Lydia fully understands her mother's career and shows her greatest support.

Lang said she could never forget how Bai supported her in Rio Olympics: "At one point, our team had lost two games, and I was under a lot of stress. My daughter somehow found a way to get herself into Olympia village. She made me scrambled eggs with tomato, my favorite Chinese dish, to cheer me up."

Lang went on to lead her team to fight its way to the championship, got China another gold medal, its first in 12 years.

"Whenever I feel stressed, I always think of you because that brings me energy. Thank you, my daughter, you are the source of my happiness," she told Bai with emotion.

"Coach Lang Ping and her daughter Lydia inspired us to understand the love and care in Chinese families, which are the most valuable support we have in our journey to self-realization. This Chinese New Year, I sincerely hope Chinese people everywhere would open their hearts and let their parents in, show them their gratitude and appreciation," said Zhang Qiyue, Chinese consul general in New York.

Other than Lang, Budweiser also invited two of its young Chinese consumers to share their stories.

As a part of the campaign, Budweiser held the world premiere of its short film, Marathon on the billboard sized screen at Times Square. The film tells the story of conflicts and misunderstanding between parents and daughter, which mirrors a typical dilemma in today's Chinese society.

"More and more people are breaking the traditional limits and bravely pursuing their dreams. They might fail, however, to notice that their parents are always supporting them," said Matt Che, marketing vice-president of AB Inbev APAC North. "We hope Chinese worldwide will cherish this Chinese New Year as an opportunity to open their hearts, and show their appreciation in their own way."

Budweiser's chief marketing officer Miguel Patricio, who has been stationed in China, expressed his sentiments at the event, saying he was always touched by the family-oriented culture in China.

"Today Budweiser invites Chinese people from around the globe to gather in New York City and share our stories. We hope that we start a new trend of appreciation in the world, right here from New York City," he said.

As a global brand with more than 100 years of history, Budweiser is consumed by millions of customers in more than 80 countries.

Entering the Chinese market in 1995, Budweiser has occupied a leading role in the market, as the No 1 international premium beer.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com