Mark Tanner says magic happens in China when brands collaborate in unexpected, fearless ways that likely wouldn't happen in the West

By Mark Tanner*

Brand collaborations have been one of China’s most effective marketing plays for years. They let both partners reach wider audiences, add a sense of novelty in a crowded marketplace and, with the right match, help foreign brands feel more culturally attuned to Chinese consumers.

The list of successful collabs is long. Milk tea brands have mastered the art, with HEYTEA teaming up with Loopy, Fendi, and even Durex. Cartoon IPs remain perennial favourites, while museum tie-ups continue to draw curiosity and queues.

But one recent partnership came completely out of left field and caught everyone off guard.

Typically when brands plan a collaboration, they look for alignment with their partner: similar values, complementary positioning, and no risk of diluting or confusing their image with their target audience. You want to elevate your brand, not cheapen it.

The first player in this unlikely duo is Mercedes, a brand synonymous with precision engineering, design excellence, and timeless sophistication. Earlier this year, Mercedes partnered with Shanghai Fashion Week, reinforcing its ties to culture and luxury.

Its latest collaborator, however, is not so polished: McDonald’s. To many outside China, McDonald’s evokes mass-produced burgers and plastic Happy Meal toys, hardly the natural fit for a luxury automaker.

But in China, McDonald’s holds a different place. It’s viewed as higher-quality, socially connected, and closely aligned with youth culture. And that’s what makes the Mercedes × McDonald’s collaboration work. It’s made Mercedes feel refreshingly fun – a little less aspirational and a little more relatable, something China’s lucrative younger demographics are wanting from brands.

For McDonald’s, the partnership elevated its premium menu beyond fast food, giving it a star-class dining feel: still accessible, but with a premium edge that lifts it above competitors that are stuck in cyclic price wars.

For both brands, the unexpected pairing cut through the noise, standing out amid the endless stream of social content and offline activations that compete for attention every day. More on the collab here.

Outside China, such a pairing would be almost impossible to sell to brand guardians. But China plays by different rules. To connect, brands must be bold, surprising, and a little fearless. Chinese consumers reward those willing to try something new, and that’s often where the magic happens.

*Mark Tanner is the CEO of China Skinny, a marketing consultancy in Shanghai. This article was first published here, and is re-posted with permission.