FRONT PAGE / POSTS
Chinese Medication Pack
by Vladimir Djurovic| Shanghai, China
Saturday, 5 June 2010
tags: art & design, asia, categories, clients & brands, global vectors
Bái jiāhēi 白加黑 is a popular over-the-counter cold medication in China, and its success can at least partially be attributed to its effective use of codes both on the cultural level and within its product category. The brand name itself means “white plus black”. The brand slogan is translated as “White pill for day, not sleepy; black pill for night, sound sleep.” Both the packaging and the pill colors utilize powerful and intuitive codes to communicate with consumers- white symbolizing day and black symbolizing night. Together they give a sense of a holistic treatment aligned with the natural cycle of one day. Balance and harmony with nature are important concepts in Chinese culture, as is symbolized by yin and yang. This cultural appeal most likely enhanced the effectiveness of the black and white codes as opposed to other colours such as yellow and blue.
Bái jiāhēi ‘s choice of codes, furthermore, differentiated the brand within the product category of over the counter (OTC) cold medications in China. Although there were competitors with similar offers, some even using the same concept of day time and night time relief with colour-coded pills, Bái jiāhēi emerged as the market leader.
© Vladimir Djurovic 2010
16 August 2010 at 3:44 pm
Lucia Neva says:
Hi Vladimir,
I am pleased to see that you brought this example to Semionaut. Last year, while walking on the streets of Shanghai I saw the printed ad for this product in several occasions (I don’t know how to publish the picture here?0. The graphic space for the ad is divided in three parts (3 as a representation of unbalance). The composition invites the user to see in a first instance a man who appears to be ill, tired, and in a very good condition (unbalanced state). At the bottom, the space is clearly divided in two balanced parts; on the left, the man smiles happily in a white background, and on the right, the same man sleeps at night showing a pleasant smile. The physical and the mental balance are represented by the smile of the man, similar to the sun and moon of the pack.
I think that Bái jiāhēi are leaders because they found a way to connect to Chinese via simple and direct visual narratives that are full of cultural meaning. In this case, reinforcing a dual concept (day/night, balance/unbalanced) via a graphic dual/triadic layout and colour composition.