The Nine introduces Chairman Mao’s debut on redesigned red envelopes for Chinese New Year
In Chinese traditions, a red envelope (hong bao in Mandarin, lai see in Cantonese) is simply a long, narrow, red envelope in which Chinese people wrap not only “lucky money”, but also blessings for the ones they love during holidays and special occasions such as Chinese New Year.
Since the red envelope was first invented, its design has remained largely the same. Jody Xiong, founder of the Shanghai-based independent agency The Nine, tried to think out of the box and design a fun red envelope that speaks innovation and creativity during this Chinese New Year.
Inspired by the portrait of Mao Zedong (the founding father of PRC, known as Chairman Mao) on every Chinese banknote, The Nine decided to base their design on this element that is dear and near to everyone.
However, in China, images of national leaders are not allowed to be used in commercial designs. As a bold move, Xiong adopted a cut-off design on the red envelope, which reveals just exactly Mao’s portrait when banknotes are inserted. There, Chairman Mao has made his appearance on the red envelope for the first time. On the back of the envelope, it says “We Chinese people are getting rich!” in a tone imitating Chairman Mao.
With millions of hits and shares, this fun yet minimalist design went viral on Chinese social media. So popular that, Xiong was invited by Hunan TV to feature in “Happy Camp” – one of the most popular entertainment TV shows in China (see left). He shared this red envelope with several national famous stars, such as Deng Chao, Eddie Peng,He Jiong and Han Han. The show was watched by more than 200 million viewers.
“This red envelope has become a phenomenon,” said Xiong. “Hundreds of thousands of envelopes have been sold on-line and off-line since its debut. People are proud to share the picture of red envelopes after purchasing and regard this as a trend during this CNY”
