May 29, 2020|

Popular Chinese Cartoon Heroes Debut at JD.com

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by Vivian Yang

On May 27th, Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS) opened its flagship store on JD.com, the very first of its kind on the internet. A number of art designs with SAFS’s cartoon IPs are launched on shelves ranging from garage kits, notebooks, earrings to baby bibs. Beautifully designed pieces with nostalgic cartoon characters’ ornaments immediately resonate with many customers, especially Chinese millennials, namely the post-80s and post-90s generations.

Flagship Store of Shanghai Animation Film Studio on JD.com

Flagship Store of Shanghai Animation Film Studio on JD.com

Shanghai Animation Film Studio, founded in 1957, is known as China’s Disney given its longest history as the largest producer of Chinese animation works. Over the past more than six decades, SAFS has generated numerous animation series and won over 200 awards at home and abroad.  In the minds of many Chinese people, the classical characters from its works, such as the Monkey King, Nezha, Black Cat Sheriff, and Calabash Brothers are no less than Marvel Heroes.

JD and SAFS co-produced a short film named “JOY STORY III: Returning to No. 618

To bring new life to these traditional characters from people’s childhood memories, JD and SAFS co-produced a short film named “JOY STORY III: Returning to No. 618” this May, telling a story of JD’s iconic JOY dog traveling back in time on a challenging mission to encounter cartoon heroes and bring them to real life. The film put many people in a melting mood on Chinese social media as they share their original aspirations, courage, passion and dreams.

As part of the store opening event, a special livestreaming session was arranged on JD Live on the same day, with a virtual anchor Chu Tiange, another popular animation character from SAFS’s work “Music Up”. Over 378,000 viewers participated in the live show to interact with their loved idols and enjoyed discounts to buy their favorite IP products.

Virtual anchor Chu Tiange in JD live session to open SAFS’s online store

Virtual anchor Chu Tiange in JD live session to open SAFS’s online store

Empowered by JD’s open platform, SAFS’s IP assets can connect directly with many brands to develop a full cycle of partnership from derivatives designing, making, marketing and sales, creating a win-win situation in which both the IPs and the brands’ value are enriched and drawn closer to more fans.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

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