Born from beloved yum cha servers, ‘trolley aunties’, who dish up tasty dumplings from heated pushcarts, the new brand character Aunty Chen took her trolley to the streets of Melbourne to share the damn good dumplings Mr Chen’s has on offer.
Rolling where no yum cha trolley has rolled before; Aunty Chen’s mission was to make sure all she encountered left feeling well-fed. All you needed to do to claim the free hot dumplings was to simply find her.
Aunty Chen and her trolley kicked off the campaign by roaming all around Melbourne, including visits to The Project, Paramount, Urban List, and Fox FM’s Fifi, Fev & Nick Show for surprise tastings.
The integrated campaign culminated with an activation on National Dumpling Day on Thursday 26 September, where Aunty Chen delighted anyone who could find her at Queensbridge Square with free Mr Chen’s dumplings.
“Find Aunty Chen” is the first integrated campaign from DDB for Mr Chen’s, following the agency’s appointment to the account earlier this year.
Meta, TikTok and influencer social content from creators like Conor Curran launched the campaign and inspired people to attend the event. Melburnian Queensbridge Square activation influencers and interstate creators shared recipe content encouraging Australians to #MakeItMrChens this National Dumpling Day!
Dominique Grainger, brand manager, Mr Chen’s said, “Aunty Chen represents the commitment in delivering authentic Asian flavours and quality that Mr Chen’s brings to all our products, as well as the brand’s rich history as a family-owned business. We are thrilled to introduce her to the world.”
Psembi Kinstan, executive creative director, DDB Group Melbourne said, “Trolley aunties also encourage you to be adventurous and try new things, so this character makes the perfect brand ambassador. If you can track her down, that is.”