Mondelez Kinh Do celebrates Mooncake Festival by bringing old family photos to life

Vietnam – In celebration of the Mooncake Festival in Vietnam, which is celebrated on 21 September, Mondelez Kinh Do, the Vietnam arm of snacking company Mondelez International, has partnered with marketing agencies Publicis, Spark, and Digitas, to launch a new genealogy platform that brings old family photographs to life for Kinh Do mooncakes, which is a brand that is synonymous with the festival.

The Mooncake Festival has been around for more than 2,000 years and is the second most important festival in the country after Lunar New Year. It is a time when families come together to celebrate the full moon.

The festival has been losing its sheen in recent years as Vietnam moves towards a digitally-driven economy, and with this, Kinh Do aims to take the responsibility for keeping meaningful Vietnamese traditions alive, which means reaching a new generation via digital and social channels. 

Through the new genealogy platform, consumers can now see their ancestors smile, blink, and turn their heads as old photos come to life. The experience is made possible with deep learning artificial intelligence from D-ID, the technology company based in the United Kingdom and Israel and the creator of web services platform MyHeritage. 

In addition, the platform makes it possible to relive family memories amid the lockdown.

Simon Crowther, Mondelez Kinh Do’s marketing director, shared that Kinh Do stands for meaningful Vietnamese traditions that bring the family together and keep the culture alive, and with the pandemic lockdown situation in the country, the festival atmosphere that used to line up the streets with stalls of mooncakes was not attainable this year. 

“Through technology, we are able to bring the spirit of the festival online – a testament to the fact that nothing can stop Kinh Do in keeping cultural traditions alive,” said Crowther. 

Publicis Vietnam’s deputy managing director, Anish Kotian, commented, “This is a coming together of head, heart, and hand in one idea. Activating the Power of One, we formed a group of experts across Publicis Groupe from creatives, data, technology, and media to bring the magic of Trung Thu to life.”