China Playbook Unlocked: Lululemon’s China Campaign Embraces Failure

This article is adapted from China Playbook, our subscription-based strategy hub for decision-makers navigating China’s ever-shifting consumer landscape.

Lululemon’s latest campaign in China marks a notable shift in how performance, success and self-worth are framed in sports and lifestyle marketing. Instead of celebrating perfection, the brand puts failure, vulnerability and emotional honesty at the centre of its storytelling — a move that feels both culturally aware and strategically timely.

Partnering with Olympic champion Wang Shun and acclaimed comedian, actress and director Jia Ling, Lululemon positions imperfection not as weakness, but as a shared human experience.

For brands navigating China’s increasingly values-driven consumer landscape, this campaign offers important lessons.

First of all, the choice of ambassadors is deliberate and symbolic.

Wang Shun made history as the first Asian male swimmer to win Olympic gold in the men’s 200m individual medley — a figure long associated with discipline, pressure and elite performance.

Meanwhile, Jia Ling is one of China’s most recognisable cultural figures. Her directorial debut, Hi, Mom, made her the world’s highest-grossing female director in 2021, and her public image is closely tied to humour, emotional openness and relatability.

Together, they represent two sides of modern Chinese aspiration: achievement and emotional truth.

Why Lululemon's Campaign Works in Today's China

In China — and many Asian societies — there is a deeply ingrained expectation to appear competent, controlled and successful in public. Personal struggle and failure are often concealed, not shared.

For decades, this cultural pressure has shaped how brands communicate: polished heroes, aspirational outcomes and relentless self-improvement.

That model is increasingly losing relevance.

Younger Chinese consumers, in particular, are showing fatigue toward unrealistic standards of success, highly scripted “perfect life” narratives and brand messaging that feels emotionally distant. 

Instead, they are gravitating toward authenticity, self-acceptance and emotional well-being — values that feel more aligned with their lived reality.

Lululemon’s campaign taps directly into this shift. The emotional message is clear:
Progress matters more than perfection; joy matters more than results.

This aligns with broader movements in China around mental health awareness, self-compassion and emotional balance, and reframing fitness as a source of joy, not pressure.

Rather than focusing on technical performance or elite credentials, the campaign asks a different question: How does movement make you feel?

This marks a subtle but powerful pivot in sports and athleisure marketing in China — from output-driven narratives to emotionally led storytelling.

What Brand Leaders Can Learn From Lululemon’s Approach

1. Make Your Marketing More Human

China’s consumers increasingly respond to brands that acknowledge vulnerability, uncertainty and emotional nuance.

2. Speak to Emotional Wellness, Not Just Performance

This article is adapted from our subscription-based strategy hub, China Playbook. Read the full article here with insights and takeaways from our senior strategist, or click the button below to subscribe for free updates.

All visuals via Lululemon