After the resounding success of "The Awakening Order," Banxia did not give the audience a moment to pause but instead launched a series of intensive new brand initiatives.
On March 30, Banxia officially announced Jay Chou as its brand ambassador, and on April 3, during Banxia’s Tmall Super Brand Day, it released its second brand video, "All the Suns," produced by Qunyu Mountain.
Compared to the bold and sweeping momentum of "The Awakening Order," "All the Suns" adopts a delicate and refreshing style.
The vocalists transitioned from Tan Weiwei to The Landlord's Cat, shifting from the thunderous emergence of spring in "The Awakening Order" to the delicate romance of "Life is but 100 summers, embrace the blazing sun."The stylistic leap between Banxia’s two films seems to be a conscious effort to continuously challenge the public and industry’s existing perceptions of the brand.
Since this is intentional, it raises a question worth exploring: Why "All the Suns"? Why a love story centered around a sun-protective garment?
In the story of the sun-protective garment, Banxia made a significant choice.
Just as the primary product in "The Awakening Order" was the "Lightweight All-Terrain Outdoor Shoe," "All the Suns" also features a product protagonist—Banxia’s "Lightweight 'Extreme Sun Exposure' Sun-Protective Garment."
Opening any product page for sun-protective items, one is immediately greeted with functional selling points such as "Sun Protection Factor SPF 50+," "Blocks 99.9% of UV Rays," and "Armored to the Fingertips."
Subconsciously, sun protection is a strong defensive concept. It is about shielding oneself from the harm caused by the sun, positioning humans and the sun as adversaries, requiring full armor to battle.
Consequently, when creating an advertisement for sun-protective products, the most common template emerges: "The sun is harsh; you need sun protection."
It is precisely because of this mainstream mindset that Banxia’s film strikes us as intriguing, as the entire story revolves around the "sun-protective garment."The lyrics in the background sing of love for the sun:
"The sun hanging on the mountaintop, the sun falling into the eyes, the sun held in the palm, the sun placed in the chest;
The sun listening to my songs, the sun wandering with me, the sun hiding in the clouds, the sun secretly watching me;
The sun holding us in its embrace, the sun making us dizzy with heat, life is but 100 summers, embrace the blazing sun."
Near the end of the film, there is a frame that BrandStar considers the most crucial of the entire piece—
"In 2017, Banxia began designing its first sun-protective garment, never expecting it to become so popular. Over the years, witnessing countless stories under the blazing sun, we came to understand:We wear sun-protective garments not out of fear of the sun, but to embrace it."
When the film’s tone shifts from "avoiding the sun" to "embracing the sun," it signifies thatBanxia has redefined the role of the "sun-protective garment"—
Is it a defensive tool to shield against the scorching sun, or a safety net that allows people to embrace the sun?
Objects themselves are neutral, but perceptions can imbue them with positive or negative connotations. This choice is like a fork in the road—Turning left or right precisely distinguishes the path a brand will take and the users it will attract in the future.
When Banxia defines the "sun-protective garment" as something that allows you to safely "embrace the sun," it means that at this critical moment,Banxia chose not to build its brand on "fear" and "anxiety" but on "love" and "joy."
Banxia is well aware that intensifying the anxiety of "avoiding the sun" may drive short-term sales, but for brand building, it is "a path that narrows with each step,"Because "avoidance" leads only to isolation and seclusion.
But "embracing the sun" is about love and joy, leading to connections between people and between humans and nature, exploring the beautiful outdoor world.
This is precisely the social role Banxia aims to define for its brand—a "barrier breaker,"By promoting the brand proposition of "Under the sky, shoulder to shoulder," and leveraging products, brand spirit, and offline community activities, it seeks to break down barriers between people and between humans and nature, fostering positive connections.
From a long-term brand development perspective, the choice to "embrace the sun" is a broader and more open-minded approach that unlocks the brand’s potential.
Why love? Why can’t it be love?
Once the overarching direction is set, the next step is about how to express it.
Before watching the video, there were many intuitive guesses, such as whether Banxia’s second film would focus on "lightweight outdoor" scenarios, perhaps elaborating on "Under the sky, shoulder to shoulder," or telling a story of friends camping together.
Indeed, it was unexpected—this is a love story about the flutter of the heart.
After the first viewing, we were still curious: aren’t outdoor brand films supposed to depict grand natural landscapes, self-discovery, and achievement? It’s almost unimaginable for an outdoor brand to produce such a "subtle" love story.
After posing this question, we suddenly realized,Why can’t it be love?
As mentioned in the previous article, the "lightweight outdoor" activities Banxia seeks to define are incredibly light, requiring no threshold to embark on.
Banxia’s focus is not on human confrontation with or conquest of nature, but on connections between people and between humans and nature.
"All the Suns" depicts a very short journey, lasting only a day and a night. By the next day, the protagonists find their way and take a rural bus back to the city.
Throughout the journey, there is no wilderness survival, only expansive natural scenery. The protagonists carry no complex gear, only a mindset of traveling light.
The story does not present them with "challenges"; finding their way is effortless, so the focus shifts to the subtle changes and advances and retreats in their relationship.
The man and woman accidentally get lost together. The woman transitions from initial complaints and defensiveness to laughing joyfully together. The barriers of social isolation in the city gradually dissolve in nature.
However, when they are at the campsite at night, the woman sees the man arranging the sun-protective garment into a hugging shape. Just as their relationship is about to deepen, she retreats.
So she lets the "garment blow away in the wind" and deliberately parts ways with the man the next day.
Yet, she still feels sad inside and regrets her cowardice.
Perhaps everyone has experienced this subtle feeling at some point.What city life teaches us is that this thrill is unknown and dangerous, yet our nature cannot deny its allure, because we know it is extraordinary—a fervor that transcends the mediocrity of everyday existence.
This story is less about love and more a universal tale of young people in the city.
So what does the outdoors truly mean for today’s urban youth?
It may no longer be a trial of self-discipline, but rather a "variable" that breaks the monotony of urban life—a connecting field that bridges the isolated distances between people.
The outdoors and nature imbue everything with "magic." Correspondingly, at the story’s end, when the boy and girl return to the city, they lose their "luster" and become as ordinary as the rest of us.
Fortunately, Beneunder has chosen a path that "embraces the blazing heat."Thus, at the end, the male and female leads meet again because of the sun-protective clothing. This time, they should both be ready.
