After the grand proclamation of "The Awakening of Insects," Jiao Xia did not give the public a chance to wait; instead, it intensively launched new brand initiatives.
On March 30, Jiao Xia officially announced Jay Chou as its brand ambassador, and on April 3, during Jiao Xia's Tmall Super Brand Day, it released its second brand video, "All the Suns," again produced by Qun Yu Shan.
Compared to the bold and imposing style of "The Awakening of Insects," "All the Suns" adopts a delicate and fresh tone.
The singer shifted from Tan Weiwei to The Landlord's Cat, transitioning from the earth-shattering emergence symbolized by the thunder of awakening insects to the delicate romance of "Life is but 100 summers; embrace the scorching sun."The stylistic leap between Jiao Xia's two videos seems to consciously challenge the existing perceptions of the brand held by the public and the industry.
Since this is intentional, it raises a topic worth exploring: Why "All the Suns"? Why a love story centered around a sun-protective jacket?
In the narrative of the sun-protective jacket, Jiao Xia made a significant choice.
Just as the main product in "The Awakening of Insects" was the "lightweight all-terrain outdoor shoes," "All the Suns" also features a product protagonist—Jiao Xia's "lightweight 'extreme sun exposure' sun-protective jacket."
Opening any introduction page for sun-protection products, one is immediately met with functional selling points such as "SPF 50+," "blocks 99.91% of UV rays," and "protection down to the fingertips."
In people's subconscious, sun protection is a strong defensive concept. It is about resisting the harm caused by the sun, positioning humans and the sun as adversaries, requiring full armor to face the challenge.
Consequently, when creating an advertisement for sun-protection products, the most common template emerges: "The sun is intense; you need sun protection."
It is precisely because of this mainstream mindset that Jiao Xia's video stands out as particularly interesting, as this story, entirely centered around the "sun-protective jacket,"features lyrics in the background that sing of love for the sun:
"The sun hanging over the mountaintop, the sun falling into my eyes, the sun held in my palm, the sun placed in my chest;
The sun listening to my song, the sun accompanying my wanderings, the sun hiding behind the clouds, the sun secretly watching me;
The sun that holds us in its embrace, the sun that makes us dizzy with heat. Life is but 100 summers; embrace the scorching sun."
Near the end of the video, there is a frame that, in Brand Planet's view, is the most important of the entire piece—
"In 2017, Jiao Xia began designing its first sun-protective jacket, never expecting it to become so popular. Over the years, witnessing countless scorching stories under the scorching sun, we realized,We wear sun-protective jackets not because we fear the sun, but to embrace it."
When the tone of the video shifts from "avoiding the sun" to "embracing the sun," it signifiesJiao Xia's redefinition of the role of the "sun-protective jacket"—
Is it a piece of defensive gear against the scorching sun, or a safety net that allows people to embrace the sun?
The object itself is neutral, but perception can imbue it with positive or negative connotations. This choice resembles a fork in the road,where turning left or right precisely distinguishes the path a brand takes and the users it will attract in the future.
By defining the "sun-protective jacket" as something that enables you to safely "embrace the sun," Jiao Xia, at this critical moment,chose not to build its brand on "fear" and "anxiety," but on "love" and "happiness."
Jiao Xia clearly understands that amplifying the anxiety of "avoiding the sun" may bring short-term business success, but for brand building, it is a path that "narrows over time,"because "avoidance" leads only to isolation and insularity.
However, "embracing the sun" represents love and happiness, fostering connections between people and between humans and nature, and encouraging exploration of the beautiful outdoor world.
This is precisely the social role Jiao Xia aims to define for its brand—a "barrier-breaker,"promoting the brand proposition of "Side by Side Under the Sky," and using products, brand spirit, and offline community activities to help break down barriers between people and between humans and the outdoors, establishing positive connections.
From the perspective of long-term brand development, the choice of "embracing the sun" is a broader, more open-minded concept that expands the brand's possibilities.
Why love? Why not love?
With the major direction set, the next step is about how to express it.
Before watching the video, there were many intuitive speculations: Would Jiao Xia's second video focus on "lightweight outdoor" scenarios? Perhaps an elaboration on "Side by Side Under the Sky," or a story about friends camping together?
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a love story about budding romance.
After the first viewing, we were still curious: Aren't outdoor brand videos typically about depicting majestic nature, self-exploration, and achievement? It's almost unimaginable for an outdoor brand to create such a "subtle" love story.
After posing this question, we suddenly realized,Why not love?
As mentioned in the previous article, Jiao Xia's "lightweight outdoor" concept defines outdoor activities as very lighthearted—a mindset that requires no barriers to set out.
Jiao Xia focuses not on the confrontation and conquest of nature, but on the connections between people and between humans and nature.
"All the Suns" depicts a very short journey, lasting only a day and a night; by the second day, the male and female leads find their way and take a rural bus back to the city.
Throughout the journey, there is no wilderness survival, only expansive natural scenery. The leads carry no complex gear, only a lighthearted mindset.
The story does not present them with "challenges"; even finding their way is effortless, so the focus shifts to the subtle changes and dynamics in their relationship.
The man and woman accidentally get lost together. The woman transitions from initial complaints and defensiveness to shared laughter, as the barriers of urban social isolation gradually dissolve in nature.
However, at the campsite in the evening, when the woman sees the man arranging the sun-protective jacket into a hugging shape, just as their relationship is about to deepen, she retreats.
She lets "the jacket be blown away by the wind" and actively parts ways with the man the next day.
Yet, she still feels sad and perceives her own cowardice.
Perhaps everyone has experienced this subtle feeling:Urban life teaches us that such stirrings are unknown and dangerous, but our nature cannot deny their allure, because we know they represent extraordinary passion beyond mundane daily life.
This story, more than being about love, resembles a universal tale about young urbanites.
So, what does the outdoors mean for today's urban youth?
It may no longer be a trial for self-cultivation but rather a "variable" that breaks the monotony of city life, a space that bridges the isolated distances between people.
The outdoors and nature imbue everything with "magic." Correspondingly, when the leads return to the city at the end, they lose their "luster," becoming as ordinary as the rest of us.
Fortunately, Jiao Xia chose the broad path of "embracing the scorching heat."Thus, at the end, the male and female leads reunite because of the sun-protective jacket. This time, one believes they are both ready.
