Propaganda branding: the old new wave in China?

What do brands really need to solidify their position in China? Precision targeting? Leveraging the power of machine learning and big data through data-driven creative? 

Pfff. If you want real results, perhaps it's time to go back to old-school learning to leverage the power of big brother through propaganda-driven creative!

So appears to be the case with this gem of a video called 'Huawei the Beautiful', shared widely on social media this week. It's catchy. It has cute kids. It has a bit of line dancing and a semi-rap breakdown in the middle. 

But it's really the old-style Chinese propaganda lyrics (see below) and choreography that take this impassioned defence of Huawei to a whole new level.

As reported in The Washington Post, the lyrics were the product of a former People's Liberation Army dance troupe member and a contract writer for the Public Security Department. The report further explains that a Zhuhai-based production company, Zhoudan Kids' Singing Classroom, created the work, which was shared on WeChat and Weibo.

While Huawei has denied it had any hand in creating the video, it's not a hard guess who did, as Beijing continues to lend strong diplomatic support to Huawei over the detainment of CFO Meng Wanzhou. 

Back door diplomacy is one thing, but branded nationalist ferver is quite another, with lyrics like these:

Which is the most beautiful phone in the world?
Everyone says Huawei!
The battery is durable and the appearance is good, with the most precious Chinese chip!
Ranking first in the phone world, Huawei strives for innovation!
Grandpa says Huawei is a good name, Chinese people can achieve!
Huawei is good, Huawei is beautiful, Huawei brings me wisdom!
Teacher tells me to love my country, and to love our domestic brand Huawei!
Huawei is good, Huawei is beautiful, Huawei wins glory for our country!
We chase dreams in a new era, aspire to achieve when we are young!

Could Samsung and Apple users... or wannabe users (we don't know how many of these kids use Huawei phones) ever top this? While the video reminds Campaign of the below misguided brand video meant to ignite love for Hitachi... there's really no comparison here.