Jiang Nan restaurant receives the first Michelle Lyn in the Philippines in a campaign by GIGIL

Jiang Nan Hotpot, in their now viral post, claims a special rating that no one else in the Philippines has ever achieved – 5-star rating from Michelle Lyn.

Just a few weeks prior to this, the famous Michelin reviewing body, known for their elusive stars given to only top restaurants, announced their arrival in the country. This created excitement among Filipinos as they speculated on which establishments would receive the first seal of approval.

Jiang Nan, like any other restaurant, also aspired to achieve the elusive and prestigious Michelin stars, but they won the race through wit and humor. The Chinese hotpot restaurant found Michelle Lyn Espiritu, a Filipina with a name that rings just like that of the expert food critic organization’s. She ate at the restaurant, and gave her judgment on Google reviews: 5 stars.

They then announced this on Meta which created buzz online. From avid fans of the restaurant to people scrolling and having a good laugh, and even to heavily followed pages, the stars used as a joke skyrocketed Jiang Nan’s traction. Over the weekend alone when it was posted, the post organically garnered millions of views with zero media budget.

The post was created by Jiang Nan in collaboration with Katok, the social media agency of GIGIL.

Credits
Client: Jiang Nan Hotpot
Agency: GIGIL Manila/Katok
Chief Creative Officer: Badong Abesamis, Herbert Hernandez
Managing Partner: Jake Yrastorza
Associate Creative Director: Nikka Melchor
Art Director/Copywriter: Jasper Cajilig
Art Director: Neil De Luna
Art Director: Joaquin Diaz
Copywriter: Ash Vidal
Copywriter: Juancho Santos
Group Account Director: Michael John Balana
Account Director: Marga Ambon
Account Supervisor: Kyara Vlahov
Account Executive: Raffy Adduru
Planner: Fritz Dalawampu
Media Director: Margie Flores-Husmalaga
Media Manager: Patricia Jayne Sy