Absolut’s playful underground tribute to Haring in China

We caught up with Christine Lin, Marketing Manager, Creative Content at Absolut and Andy Dai, Brand Manager of Absolut Vodka at Pernod Ricard China, to explain the rationale behind the concept.

How have you been involved in the Haring project?

Christine: My responsibility was to translate the global “Playful Underground” concept into a culturally resonant creative world for China – shaping the narrative, visual direction, and all local adaptations of global assets. The China team then designed the subway takeover experience and activated the campaign across media, influencers, and e-commerce, including TikTok, OTV/OTT, and on-trade. 

Because the campaign spans OOH, digital, retail and experience, we collaborated closely to ensure the creative idea and media strategy formed a cohesive, consistent launch plan. This cross-market partnership is what enabled the campaign to land with both artistic integrity and strong local relevance.

Can you give some context behind the creative process for Playful Underground?

Christine: The creative process began with staying true to the global idea – Haring’s legacy of turning the subway into a vibrant art space filled with movement, colour and human energy. Our task was to bring that spirit to China in a way that felt emotionally relevant to young consumers today.

The key for us was the cultural tension we are seeing in China. Young people are navigating a soft economy and workplace uncertainty, feeling under pressure daily. More than half describe their routines as repetitive, monotonous and lacking stimulation, turning to micro escapes – simple, accessible ways to release stress. This tension between high pressure and the desire for simple, joyful release shaped our global idea. 

With that in mind, we reimagined the subway not just as a commute space but as a playful interruption – a colourful, unexpected moment of relief in the middle of an ordinary day.

• The Chinese interpretation line – “打破日常 绝对出逃 / Break the Routine, Absolut Unbound” – maintained global consistency but unlocked local meaning.
• Visually, we used the global Haring characters and blue-yellow palette, but expanded the world with local storytelling, Chinese typography, and interactive OOH that encouraged participation.

By infusing Haring’s vivid characters and energy into this familiar environment, we created a micro-escape that mirrors what young consumers are seeking: something uplifting, surprising and emotionally refreshing right within their daily routine.

We reimagined the subway not just as a commute space but as a playful interruption – a colourful, unexpected moment of relief in the middle of an ordinary day.

Christine Lin

Why select Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou as locations for the campaign?

Andy: Our starting point was Haring’s legacy and his transformation of the New York subway into a living art space. We wanted to bring that same spirit to China by placing the campaign right at the heart of young office workers’ daily grind: the metro system, where routine is strongest and a playful interruption can have the most significant emotional impact. To make sure the activation truly landed, we selected cities and stations based on four criteria:

1. They are Absolut’s core commercial cities, where the brand already has strong equity and cultural presence.
2. They deliver strong foot traffic with a high concentration of our young, urban target audience.
3. They offer the feasibility for large-scale, creative and interactive in-station executions, which were crucial for bringing “Playful Underground” to life credibly.
4. They are surrounded by a sufficient number of partnered bars and outlets so that the experience can be extended directly from the subway to the nightlife and on-trade scene.

Based on these considerations, we selected Jing’an Temple Station in Shanghai, Tiyu Xi Road Station in Guangzhou, and Financial City Station in Chengdu. In fact, Chengdu deserves a special mention. We discovered a 480-sqm open space directly connected to a subway exit and adjacent to an office complex – an ideal environment for our audience. 

This gave us the opportunity to build a full Haring-themed pop-up “metro party,” turning the space into an immersive cultural moment rather than just an OOH installation. It became one of the campaign’s most dynamic highlights.

Can you talk about the TikTok and influencer activations?

Andy: We built our social plan around the platforms where Chinese youth consume culture: TikTok (Douyin) and Red Book. We then divided it into a three-phase strategy – grab attention, hype and amplify – each with different content roles. 

Phase 1 – Grab attention (October)
Introduce the Absolut Haring Artist Edition and warm up the takeover using paid TikTok and OTV/OTT formats. We leveraged high-impact placements to drive e-commerce traffic for Double 11.

Phase 2 – Hype (November)
KOLs live-documented the subway takeover, helping us bring the offline activation into the social world. City/lifestyle creators showed the “Playful Underground in transit,” making it feel discoverable and shareable.

Phase 3 – Amplify (December)
We invited commuters and influencers alike to “Break the daily routine with Absolut!” through UGC challenges – snap a selfie with the OOH, win exclusive fridge magnets and unlock nearby bar events.

The synergy between paid formats, influencer storytelling, and on-site interaction accelerated both reach and deeper culture-making.

The synergy between paid formats, influencer storytelling, and on-site interaction accelerated both reach and deeper culture-making.

Andy Dai

Can you give context around using China’s “crazy slang” craze?

Christine: Young consumers in China love playful, exaggerated internet slang – it’s a language of spontaneity and humour. This made it a perfect match for the Haring visual world, which is bold, expressive and full of movement. 

In our subway OOH, we paired global Haring characters with local playful expressions that evoke “breaking free” energy, turning everyday commuting lines into surprising meme-able moments.

My favourite slang slogan from the campaign is “下一站，不加班” (“Next stop, no overtime”). We placed it inside the train as if it were the name of the next station – a clever twist that instantly turns the commute into an “off-work switch.” 

It captures exactly what young consumers dream about: a moment of liberation from endless hours of work. It was brilliant because we saw that commuters were actually slowing down to read the slogans. You could see them smile, take photos and share them on their social media platforms. That is when I realised the idea had truly landed.

You could see them [the commuters] smile, take photos and share them on their social media platforms. That is when I realised the idea had truly landed.

Christine Lin

What plans do you have up your sleeves for the on-trade?

Andy: We plan to hold 20 channel activations, focusing on trendy, influential dance clubs, where we will offer a free welcome Absolut cocktail at the entrance and host a Haring-style dance battle.

The fridge magnets look quirky and fun. How do they fit into the campaign?

Andy: Unlike the typical metro ads, which are purely for display, we wanted to go beyond passive viewing and create a truly interactive advertisement. So, we gamified a standard metro ad by adding Absolut Haring magnets. 

The rule was simple: ‘share to unlock.’ People shared the metro ads on social media to get a magnet, which then led them to nearby partner bars for a free Absolut cocktail. It generated organic social buzz, incentivised office workers to break their routine, and drove traffic directly to our partner outlets. Additionally, the magnets’ collectability extended the campaign’s lifespan.

Unlike the typical metro ads, which are purely for display, we wanted to create a truly interactive advertisement. So, we gamified a standard metro ad by adding Absolut Haring magnets.

Andy Dai

How is this activation different from the one at Haring Cross in London? 

Christine: The London Haring Cross takeover was a beautiful homage to Haring’s artistic legacy and to the subway’s inspiration. In China, we kept the global brand, characters and bottle identity consistent – but adapted the activation to be more participatory and digitally integrated. Key differences include:

• Scale across multiple cities (Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou) rather than one iconic station (Charing Cross).
• Interactive OOH, such as the fridge magnet walls that reveal bar events – a tailor-made mechanic for China’s social and on-trade ecosystem.
• An immersive pop-up space in Chengdu, creating a more immersive physical journey.

When does the campaign launch and what are your main goals?

Andy: We launched the Absolut Haring campaign from late October, starting with social seeding, OTT/OTV ads, and in-site E-Commerce media, which boosted awareness and sales during Double 11. Following that, we launched the social stunt in metro stations from mid-November, as the second wave of the campaign, to take the overall momentum to the next level

Regarding the main goals, the first is to continue building brand awareness, which is particularly significant as it marks Absolut’s first foray into OOH advertising in China, aiming to reach over 24 million commuters in a month. The second is to enhance social talkability and build a cool, trendy and vibrant brand image.

What has been your personal highlight while working on this campaign?

Christine: Seeing the campaign philosophy come full circle. Starting with the Absolut Warhol campaign, we learned how powerful it is to leverage rich global creative resources while still designing with deep local empathy. With Haring, we applied those learnings again – keeping the global spirit of “Playful Underground” intact while shaping a China-specific creative world rooted in real cultural tension. The moment I saw commuters pause, smile, and interact with the takeover, I felt we had achieved that balance once more.