As Shopee’s own shopping festival approaches, a new ad featuring Cristiano Ronaldo went viral online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHH3QfBSs7I
There are lots of negative comments, and even outrage, online about the Baby Shark tune used in the commercial.
However, in many markets, this is often effective. The tune is so easy that it goes viral easily and people follow it unconsciously.
And it is not the first time Shopee uses this tactic. Back in 2017, it did this:
And such tactic has been used effectively by many Chinese advertisers – and the tunes they use are called “洗脑歌” (“brainwashing songs”) by the young people on WeChat and Weibo. And when they are repeated again and again on TV and in the omnipresent lift ads.
Look at this brainwashing song by Pinduoduo:
It seems that Shopee is not the only internet platform adopting this advertising tactic. Tiket.com does a fair bit as well:
