China – LUX, together with VML Singapore, has unveiled a new campaign that challenges deep-rooted naming traditions in China—encouraging women to reclaim their identity by creating meaningful, modern names that celebrate who they truly are.
As part of the campaign, LUX and VML Singapore launched ‘Reclaim Her Name’, a digital tool that allows women in China to replace outdated, gender-biased names with alternatives that reflect modern values and personal empowerment. The tool, accessible via mobile apps WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote, uses AI to suggest new names based on the original—retaining key elements such as sounds and characters, but shifting away from regressive associations.
The initiative introduces the concept of “self-renaming”, a response to the enduring practice of assigning names that reflect traditional gender hierarchies. In China, it remains common for women to be given names that signify fragility, inferiority, or disappointment—such as Zhao Di (“I wish I had a boy”), Ya Nan (“Second to man”), and Sheng Nan (“Bear me a boy”). These names continue to reflect deep-seated gender bias, subtly reinforcing the idea that women are secondary to men.
Rooted in feminist history, the campaign draws inspiration from Nu Shu, a centuries-old secret script developed and used exclusively by women during the Song Dynasty. Created as a way for women to communicate and share their experiences in a male-dominated society, Nu Shu’s flowing, symbolic strokes form the basis for the campaign’s custom-designed “New Women’s Font”, which appears throughout the tool.
The name-changing process is designed to be interactive and intuitive. Users enter their current name and simply shake their phones to receive a new suggestion. If the result doesn’t resonate, they can continue shaking until they find a name that aligns with their identity.
By combining technology with cultural insight, ‘Reclaim Her Name’ offers a modern response to a longstanding issue—providing women with a means to assert agency over something as foundational as their name.
Marco Versolato, chief creative officer – WPP@Unilever at VML Singapore, said, “Inspired by an ancient, secret language created only for women, we’re rewriting sexist traditions to create meaningful new names that reflect the spirit of modern, dynamic women in China.”
Since its launch, ‘Reclaim Her Name’ has generated over 14,000 new names, reflecting growing engagement with the tool and broader conversations around identity and gender norms in China.
Judy Zu, global brand director at LUX, shared, “Each Chinese character is an alchemy of sound and symbol: the same strokes, rearranged, weave blessings or critiques. At LUX, we believe every woman deserves a name that becomes a mirror to her strength and a compass for her journey. Yet, even today, profound bias still lurks behind many women’s names. That’s why we created Reclaim Her Name: not just to rename, but to reignite. Because every woman can – and should – sculpt her identity unapologetically; just as characters transform with every stroke, so can we.”
