Meituan's 'i-people buy iPhones' films lift Apple sales 572% on the app

By 2024, Meituan delivered far more than food, and consumer electronics were among the fastest-growing categories in on-demand retail. Apple was the trophy brand: win the right to deliver iPhones and the whole electronics aisle follows. Meituan's awareness was 'delivers everything', so the campaign needed to make Apple purchases feel native to the app.

S.G. Advertising found the bridge in the letter 'i'. iPhone, iPad and iPod all start with it — and so, in the MBTI personality system popular with young Chinese, do introverts ('i人'), who dislike shops and small talk. The claim wrote itself: 'i-people buy iPhones on Meituan Waimai' (i人买iPhone，就上美团外卖). The agency then expanded 'i' beyond introverts — idea-rich people, important people, interesting people — so the joke covered everyone, not just one personality type.

Seven short films played out the idea in wildly different styles — live action, animation, puppet theatre, web-interface comedy — tied together by a stiff AI voiceover that made the absurdity land. Each scene still sold the real benefit: Apple products delivered to your door in about thirty minutes, no store visit needed.

Within three days the films drew over 130 million exposures and 250,000+ interactions across Weibo, WeChat Channels, Douyin and Xiaohongshu. Meituan's business numbers moved with them: real transaction value for Apple products grew 572%, order volume 536%, and in-app searches 204%. The campaign won a Bronze at LongXi and a Gold in the sales-growth category at Jintong, where it was cited as creative social content that measurably converted.