Chariot Agency turns paper-bag persona into a brand moment for Gigi Coffee
Gigi Coffee’s latest collaboration brings viral personality Ann Jaafar into the spotlight, but not in the usual influencer way. The campaign centres on a limited-edition Ann Jaafar cup cover, styled after her iconic paper bag. Simple and tactile, it quickly took off online. In stores, Gigi baristas wore full-sized bag replicas, leaning into the absurdity and bringing the internet to life, one drink order at a time.
Jaafar is best known for her relatable doodles and real-life appearances in a paper bag — a signature that protects her identity while fuelling her mystique. An unlikely match on paper, she’s a fitting collaborator for Gigi Coffee, a brand built on playful irreverence and sharp cultural instincts.
This marks Chariot’s first campaign for Gigi Coffee since being named creative agency, and sets the tone for what’s to come: ideas that live beyond the feed, but are built for it. Rather than treat it like a typical brand endorsement, the team approached it as a co-creation. The result is offbeat and intentionally unpredictable, shaped by Jaafar’s pun-ny energy from start to finish.
“What Ann does aligns so naturally with who we are as a brand,” said Marcus Low, group CEO at Gigi Coffee. “We didn’t want to mould it to fit the brand. We wanted to have fun with it and give people something they’d actually want to share.”
For Chariot, the campaign is also a reflection of how brands can stay culturally fluent without defaulting to trend-chasing or templated formats.
“Everything we make now needs to earn attention,” said Gillian Yap, general manager at Chariot Agency. “This idea worked because people saw it, got it, and made it theirs. That’s when you know the collab has done its job of inviting others into the co-creation process.”
A fan meet-and-greet happening this weekend will bring the community out in force, giving followers a rare chance to meet the creator in person (without ever seeing her face). There are also promotions tied to the Ann Jaafar cup sleeve and a line of merchandise featuring pun-heavy designs by the artist herself.
The campaign launched in August across Instagram, TikTok, and all Gigi Coffee outlets nationwide.