SK-II is an international prestige skincare brand looking to grab a larger share of the Chinese market. But in China advertising for cosmetics is often rational and celebrity focused. “Use this cream and get flawless skin, just like this movie star.” In order to stand out, SK-II was looking to do something with emotional quality.

They had already established #changedestiny – a campaign designed to inspire women to shape their skin destiny. Our idea was to elevate the campaign to include “life destiny”. To achieve this we traveled to China to conduct interviews with women in the target group. The Sheng Nu label, meaning “leftover woman”, and the pressure to marry, sometimes at the expense of their careers and independence, emerged as a big issue in their lives.

The objective was to change the perception of Sheng Nus and challenge the way we view single women all over the world.

The film opens with a glimpse into the immense pressure Chinese women face regarding marriage. It then proceeds to explain “Sheng Nu”, a term designed by the government to label and stigmatize unmarried women over the age of 27. At the same time, four independent Chinese women are introduced, sharing their own personal views on the subject. Their parents are shown too, and they explain that matchmaking was an integral part of how marriage worked in their days. This leads to an examination of the marriage market, a place where parents go to match their sons and daughters using personal ads. The daughters agree to attend the market with their parents, but only to deliver their own personal messages – that they refused to marry just for the sake of it. The film ends with the parents understanding their daughters’ viewpoint and the first steps towards reconciliation.

We created an installation at the marriage market in Shanghai’s People’s Park, where we replaced dating ads with statements from single women, proclaiming that they’re happy being independent and won’t marry just to please someone else. We then shot a documentary style film with four of the women and their parents.

The film was created to be a tool that people could use to raise awareness. After all, it’s easier sharing a film than to start a debate on your own, especially with this taboo subject matter

The film was premiered on Chinese video hosting sites Youku, Tencent as well as YouTube. Supporting the launch was Chinese and international influencers who shared the film and helped spread the word on blogs, Twitter and Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

We then launched Behind the Scenes interviews with the women, providing an even greater insight into the nuances of China’s views on marriage.