Golden Resources leverages wordplay to promote value of premium rice

Hong Kong-based rice supplier Golden Resources has unveiled a fun, innovative campaign that moves from traditional “family reunion” storytelling of happy family meals to focusing on quality, variety, and health of premium rice.

Also known as “Every grain, every bowl, always beautiful rice" (粒粒皆靚米 碗碗都靚仔), the campaign has leveraged the term “handsome boys” (靚仔) to promote its premium rice, which is also a local slang for white rice as the bright, pearly grains resemble the fair complexion of a handsome young man.

Golden Resources plays on this unique cultural reference, creating an innovative ad campaign where “handsome boys" represent its three major premium rice brands: “Golden Elephant”, “Kam Heung”, and “Cherry Blossom”, helping people rediscover the value and appeal of rice.

The 30-second ad adopts a fresh, humorous, and pure white aesthetic, featuring a little girl introducing the “handsome boys” in her home—only to reveal that she is actually talking about premium rice and its irresistible qualities. The ad also incorporates classic voice-over catchphrases, evoking nostalgic memories of Golden Resources’ iconic commercials.

The three “handsome boys” featured in the ad represent the three major rice brands of Golden Resources showcasing the diverse options available. Each bowl of white rice transforms into a healthy and delicious “handsome boys”, perfectly aligning with the campaign slogan: “Every grain, every bowl, always beautiful rice”.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from Golden Resources said the traditional concept of a rice-related campaign is quite emotional talking about “family reunion” with scenes of dinner at home cross generations.

"This time, we focus on the uniqueness of Golden Resources’ rice which is high quality with variety and the commercial is presented by 'handsome boys' with the meaning of high quality in Cantonese and also echoing the slang for white rice in local food industry. The pure white tone giving fresh and clean ambiance is also different from the usual rice commercials."

Done in partnership with local agency GAIA Communications, the campaign targets housewives by reinforcing Golden Resources’ rice as the best rice product in town. It also targets younger generations to explore the benefits of eating rice.  

Since Golden Resources have produced over 30 iconic TV commercials over the decades, the campaign replayed some of the classic ones on social media and introduced the correlation of “handsome boys” and “white rice” before the launch of the new ad.

To reach a wider audience, the company is recruiting "handsome boys" in reality to participate in Reels video shoots, sharing fun facts about rice. Interested parties can sign up from 24 March to 11 April on the brand's Instagram or Facebook. TV spots, digital advertising, out-of-home ads on SOGO TV will also be leveraged. 

The brand also partnered with local online media DCard which targets high school to university students to launch a street interview on the topic of “handsome boys” to introduce the food slang of white rice.

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