The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2024
Yili's YouSuanRu turns the Chen Luyu–Paris logo meme into a 'lookalike ambassador'
Without Olympic rights, Yili cast talk-show host Chen Luyu — who really does resemble the Paris 2024 logo — as its Paris Lookalike Ambassador for YouSuanRu.
Yili (伊利) · 180 Creative Group (壹捌零创意集团)
What it had to solve
Around the 2024 Paris Olympics, dairy giant Yili had no official partnership rights yet still wanted to own a piece of the conversation, especially for YouSuanRu, its yogurt drink aimed at younger consumers. A three-year-old internet joke claimed talk-show host Chen Luyu looked like the Paris 2024 flame logo; Yili's agency 180 Creative Group noticed she also looked like YouSuanRu's own virtual mascot Xiao You — a bridge between the Games and the brand that no one else could copy.
How it works
Around the 2024 Paris Olympics, dairy giant Yili had no official partnership rights yet still wanted to own a piece of the conversation, especially for YouSuanRu, its yogurt drink aimed at younger consumers. A three-year-old internet joke claimed talk-show host Chen Luyu looked like the Paris 2024 flame logo; Yili's agency 180 Creative Group noticed she also looked like YouSuanRu's own virtual mascot Xiao You — a bridge between the Games and the brand that no one else could copy.
Yili gave the joke a title: Chen Luyu became 'Paris Lookalike Ambassador', playing on the Chinese words for 'image ambassador' and 'really looks alike'. Chen herself filmed a social video called A Lookalike Ambassador's Confession, built around the logo's flame hairstyle. The team drew flame-head versions of other brands — KFC, JD.com, Want Want, Hema — as a playful 'diplomatic' move, enlisted over 100 meme accounts, and shipped a real limited-edition YouSuanRu pack with the lookalike design, running June 28 to August 30, 2024 on a budget of one to two million yuan.
Without any paid media rights, the campaign's total exposure reached over 370 million with more than 850,000 total interactions. The main hashtag #鲁豫撞脸优酸乳 drew over 160 million reads and the campaign claimed six natural hot-search slots, including number one on Kuaishou and number two on Weibo, and the Paris limited-edition pack became a bestseller across ecommerce. It later earned a bronze at 2024's DAwards entertainment-marketing category and a selected entry at the FBIF Wow Food Awards.
Why it lands
- The meme was already national; the campaign just gave it a brand-shaped punchline, so it rode attention instead of buying it.
- Chen Luyu genuinely resembled both the Paris logo and Xiao You, which made the ambassador title true rather than a stretch.
- Involving the celebrity herself, other brands and hundreds of meme accounts turned a one-off joke into an open game anyone could join.
- A physical limited-edition pack closed the loop, converting a social-media stunt into a product people could buy.
What it did
Without any paid media rights, the campaign's total exposure reached over 370 million with more than 850,000 total interactions. The main hashtag #鲁豫撞脸优酸乳 drew over 160 million reads and the campaign claimed six natural hot-search slots, including number one on Kuaishou and number two on Weibo, and the Paris limited-edition pack became a bestseller across ecommerce. It later earned a bronze at 2024's DAwards entertainment-marketing category and a selected entry at the FBIF Wow Food Awards.
What you can take
A brand can adopt a public joke faster than it can buy a platform: Yili turned a meme about someone else's logo into owned attention for its own mascot and product.
Since then
The campaign ran through the whole Paris period and kept earning after it: a bronze at the 2024 DAwards entertainment-marketing category, a selected entry at the FBIF Wow Food Awards, and a place in year-end case roundups. For Yili it established that a brand without official sports rights can still lead a sports-season conversation, and YouSuanRu kept the mascot-lookalike gag as part of its young-consumer identity.
Sources
- Yili YouSuanRu: Chen Luyu answers the lookalike meme (case page)
- Paris Lookalike Ambassador — FBIF Wow Food Awards marketing entry
- 180 wins DAwards for JD.com and Yili YouSuanRu campaigns
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