The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2017
NetEase News and Ele.me Turned a Joke into a 4-Day Pop-up
In 2017, NetEase News and Ele.me turned a Weibo joke into a 4-day pop-up store, drawing queues and viral posts.
NetEase News (网易新闻) · Ele.me (饿了么)
What it had to solve
In 2017, Heytea (喜茶) queues became a social topic, and “sang culture (丧文化)”—young people using self-deprecation to relieve stress—was popular. NetEase News (网易新闻) wanted to build a closer relationship with young users, Ele.me (饿了么) needed a talk-worthy offline event, and the netizen idea “Sang Tea (丧茶)” tied the two companies together.
How it works
On April 28, 2017, a 'Sang Tea' store opened in Shanghai for four days during May Day, with gloomy décor and negative-named drinks. It originated from a netizen's joke on Weibo, which NetEase News and Ele.me made real.
The idea worked because 'sang culture' was a growing mood among youth. NetEase had focused on young people's emotions, and Ele.me connected the store to delivery. Execution took less than three weeks.
Queues formed on day one, and social media flooded. After 4 days, the store closed. The partners then released a report on 'sang culture' using order data, extending the campaign.
Why it lands
- The idea came from a netizen joke rather than a brand talking to itself, so it naturally carried shareability.
- It precisely hit the “sang culture (丧文化)” mood of that year; self-deprecating copy made people willing to take photos and post them to WeChat Moments (朋友圈).
- It opened for only 4 days and was the only store nationwide; scarcity created a “must rush there” urgency.
- Delivery ordering and the Wang Sansan (王三三) IP naturally embedded the two brands into the content, rather than simply attaching their names.
What it did
Queues began on the afternoon of the first day, exceeding the organizers’ expectations; Weibo (微博) and WeChat Moments (朋友圈) were flooded, and China News Network (中国新闻网), Yicai (一财网), and other media followed up. After 4 days, the pop-up store disappeared on schedule. The two sides then jointly released a “sang culture (丧文化)” report supported by Ele.me (饿了么) order data, extending the offline event into a content asset.
What you can take
Executing users' self-deprecating jokes as real events is more shareable than brands talking to themselves.
Since then
After the event, 'Sang Tea' became a frequent term in 2017 marketing roundups, and multiple brands followed the trend. NetEase and Ele.me released a 'Sang Culture' report as planned. A dispute over creative ownership arose: the original Weibo user said he wasn't contacted, but a lawyer judged no infringement. For NetEase, Wang Sansan gained attention; for Ele.me, it was a low-cost, high-discussion experiment.
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