Mannings | No.1 Campaign | Hong Kong

With the focus on Mannings’ apparently superb customer services, agency partner Metta Communications set out to deliver a warm, customer-centric branding campaign across Hong Kong. Metta’s managing director Andrew Lee explained that Hong Kong has dwelled on the recession for long enough. Agencies have over-exploited the “cheer up” concept, and it is about time they forgot about the downturn and look forward, Lee said.

The ‘Mannings No. 1 Campaign’ is designed to simply bring a smile to people in Hong Kong. The ad begins with a little girl that especially likes to go to Mannings with her mom. Not just for a particular good-looking employee there, but also for the extra attention she gets from him. Although she later discovers she is not the only one that is ‘special’, it does not deter her from liking him, or Mannings.

Having only just debuted on TV, the campaign has already generated a lot of buzz online. Metta has also released the TV ad soundtrack for download as a ringtone. Creative director Hardy Lam noted that the team searched relentlessly for the prefect girl to cast in the show, even though this postponed the campaign release for a month. “All the effort is to bring out the deepest and sweetest emotions from the viewers,” he said.

Athen Chung, director of marketing at Mannings Hong Kong and China, said the campaign is not meant to be flashy, but to demonstrate a simple concept: that children are able to provide an honest insight into a store’s (Mannings’) services. “We have put a lot of effort into training the employees to meet every need of the customers,” she said. Mannings and Metta are looking at extending the theme into an ongoing project.




Translated synopsis:
Girl: He is very nice to my mom.
        But especially to me.
        Oh, I’m so nervous, so nervous.
        Too bad that he is nice to everyone.
Employee: Please leave your number and I will notify you once the stock is in.
Girl: 2590-8723 (Please note this is not a functioning telephone number.)
        I think I'm having a little crush on him.



Credits:
Project Mannings No.1 Campaign
Client Mannings
Creative agency Metta Communications
Creative directors Hardy Lam, Teddy Leung
Art director Teddy Leung
Copywriter Ronald Cheng
Account servicing Andrew Lee, Ng Siu Hung
Agency producer Reuben Cheng
Production company Such Films
Director Maisy Choi
Exposure Television, print, point-of-purchase