The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2017
Pechoin's 427 cm long image turned brand history into a viral spy film
Before Mother's Day, Pechoin and studio Jubu Qihou Diaocha Zu released a Republic-era spy long-image ad; views exceeded 100,000+ and 4 million total.
Pechoin (百雀羚)
What it had to solve
Pechoin (百雀羚) wanted to promote a custom Mother's Day gift box, Yueguang Baohe (月光宝盒); the brand provided the theme 'defying time'. This is a Shanghai heritage brand founded in 1931 and needed to help younger users rediscover it.
How it works
Before Mother's Day in May 2017, Pechoin (百雀羚) and the creative studio Jubu Qihou Diaocha Zu (局部气候调查组) released 1931 (一九三一): a one-shot long image about 427 cm long that takes about 6 minutes to finish. It is set on the streets of Shanghai in 1931, where a female spy moves through Republic of China-era street scenes; the final shot reveals that what she killed was 'time', echoing Pechoin's founding in 1931 and the Mother's Day theme 'defying time'.
In execution, the advertisement began coordination in early April: early-stage creative communication took about 1 month, and production execution took about 2 weeks. The long image was first published on the WeChat official account of Jubu Qihou Diaocha Zu (局部气候调查组), using densely packed Republic of China-era life details and plot progression to keep readers scrolling; it was then widely screenshotted and shared, flooding WeChat Moments almost overnight.
In results, the WeChat official account post reached 100,000+ views, total spread views exceeded 4 million, and production cost was about 200,000+ yuan. The behind-the-scenes team Jubu Qihou Diaocha Zu (局部气候调查组) subsequently gained fame, and long-image advertising became a phenomenon-level format in the advertising industry in 2017, followed and imitated by many brands.
Industry reviews also pointed out its other side: extremely strong spreadability but questionable conversion—many users finished reading only remembering the advertisement, not the Yueguang Baohe (月光宝盒) product. But it proved one thing: advertising can be not content that interrupts, but work that users actively finish and actively share.
Why it lands
- It wrapped brand history in a Republic of China-era spy story, turning a 60-second hard advertisement into 6 minutes of immersive content.
- Long images naturally suit phone scrolling and are easy to screenshot for secondary spread on social platforms.
- The theme 'defying time' was provided by the brand; the creative team completed the expression through plot rather than slogans.
- Through one advertisement, the behind-the-scenes studio transformed from a popular-science account into a well-known creative team in the industry.
What it did
The WeChat official account post reached 100,000+ views; total spread views exceeded 4 million; production cost was about 200,000+ yuan. The behind-the-scenes team Jubu Qihou Diaocha Zu (局部气候调查组) gained fame, and long-image advertising became a phenomenon-level format in the industry that year, followed and imitated by many brands.
What you can take
When the product lacks a topic, make the ad a story worth finishing: the long image turned a 60-second ad into 6 minutes of content, making screenshots and sharing distribution channels.
Since then
Pechoin (百雀羚) used this to complete a rejuvenation narrative for its heritage brand; the one-shot long image became a representative case of Chinese social advertising in 2017. Jubu Qihou Diaocha Zu (局部气候调查组) subsequently received more brand collaborations and brought the long-image style to clients such as JD.com (京东). Industry reviews of it have continued for years, with the core question always being: how can content-based advertising balance spreadability and conversion rate—the question itself became the case's legacy.
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