Meituan Instashopping, where speed is the only rule, has launched a new wave of AIGC-driven marketing.
To get straight to the point: judging by the videos already released, they have finally answered a question that has been raised repeatedly in recent years but rarely solved—
How should brands leverage AIGC in today’s era?
The answer is actually quite simple, and you might find it surprisingly straightforward once stated: Don’t use AI as a gimmick; instead, treat it as an “amplifier of brand value.”
In short, the biggest change in AIGC within the marketing sector over the past year or two hasn’t been about “whether content can be generated,” but rather—
Whether the generated content can clearly convey brand information and business positioning.
If it’s just showing off technical prowess, users might take a look out of curiosity, but they’ll likely forget it immediately (“leaving no trace behind”—in other words, wasted effort).
Therefore, industry standards are quietly shifting. The focus is moving from “Can AI generate flashy, eye-catching content?” to “Does it clearly articulate the brand’s core value?”
At this pivotal moment, Meituan Instashopping collaborated with AIGC creators to produce two marketing videos, offering a practical case study that demonstrates how technology can speak for brands.
In particular, one piece jokingly dubbed by netizens as the “Meituan Instashopping version of Journey to the West” instantly sparked widespread discussion and sharing:
Upon closer inspection, its strength lies in not rushing to prove “how powerful AI is,” but instead using seemingly absurd yet logical creative ideas to vividly illustrate Meituan Instashopping’s capability of delivering quality goods within 30 minutes.
In a sense, this is a smart and restrained form of tech-driven marketing—
The kind where you know it’s an ad, but you’re still willing to watch until the end (doge).
Without further ado, let’s break down these two videos.
Video Breakdown Show Time
To help everyone clearly understand Meituan Instashopping’s strategy behind this campaign, we’ll try a bit of role-playing.
Imagine you are now the client for Meituan Instashopping, and your brief is:
In the AI wave, how can brands use algorithm-generated surreal imagery to concretize their “30-minute delivery of everything” service capability? How can they realize creative scripts that traditional TVCs (television commercials) struggle to execute, embodying the philosophy that “technology serves creativity, and creativity serves users”?
Let’s highlight the key points. Your core requirements actually boil down to two things:
- Can AI effectively convey the brand’s core message—specifically Meituan Instashopping platform’s “delivery timeliness” and “diversity of goods”?
- Can the conveyed information be clearly perceived by the audience, i.e., what is the conversion rate?
With these criteria in mind, let’s examine the two videos from the client’s perspective—first discussing our overall impression after watching, then evaluating whether the value proposition hits the mark.
A quick disclaimer: although both videos showcase Meituan Instashopping’s “speed” and “variety,” we will focus on the most prominent aspect of each video separately.
Journey to the West Episode: Order Placed, Delivered Instantly—Nailing the Thrill of “Instant Retail” Speed
The first video primarily revolves around “Meituan Instashopping Express Delivery.” Setting aside the plot for a moment, let’s first experience its pacing and thrill factor.
Video Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/E0YqXZVYLhGVvMssU16EHA
In just over a minute, “Meituan Instashopping” descends upon three familiar mini-stories with the arrival of divine weapons. Paired with high-energy BGM and visual effects, the overall feeling after watching can be summed up in one word: Satisfying!
And once that thrill subsides, filtering out all other information, you’ll suddenly realize your brain has unconsciously absorbed a specific takeaway—
Whatever you urgently need right now, Meituan Instashopping will appear and deliver it immediately.
At this point, you know it’s done—the ad has entered your mind in another way (doge).
So how did they achieve this? It’s actually quite simple, relying on two core elements:
First, by borrowing wildly creative plots to naturally integrate the brand philosophy of “quality goods within 30 minutes” and “instant problem-solving” into well-known scenes from Journey to the West, allowing viewers to quickly get hooked in a short time.
Second, through repetition, constantly reinforcing the impression.
And then, some kind of “magic” naturally occurs.
Looking specifically at this video, you’ll notice that its entire logic and pacing emphasize “speed.”
One moment, the master and disciples are in dire straits—flames raging at the Flaming Mountains, the Great Sage being subjected to his master’s chanting spell, sandstorms swirling at Huangfeng Ridge. The situation is urgent and fraught with hardship.
The next second, following a familiar trope (cue recognition), whether it’s solid mango pomelo sago used to extinguish fires… or a decompression head massager to relieve the pain of the tight-fillet spell—all are swiftly delivered by “Meituan Instashopping.”
There is no waiting, no “let’s figure something else out”; instead, only one thing is emphasized—
You need it, and it arrives.
Moreover, the gap between this need and its fulfillment is infinitely compressed by the high-energy video pacing and special effects.
As a result, the viewer experience becomes extremely direct. You don’t even have time to question its rationality; instinctively, you just feel, “Wow, that was fast.”
It is precisely at this point that the video accurately captures the biggest difference between “instant retail” and “traditional e-commerce.”
Traditional e-commerce often offers “next-day delivery at the earliest,” with a service logic based on planning and waiting. In contrast, Meituan Flash Shopping emphasizes “good goods in hand within 30 minutes” (which can be understood as a “30-minute version of traditional e-commerce”), essentially aiming to eliminate wait times.
Therefore, this AI video establishes the technical mindset that “instant retail is the optimal solution for modern life” through the visual satisfaction of “delivery upon ordering,” making people’s perception of “speed” more vivid and concrete.
It is also worth noting that high-difficulty visual effects such as “extinguishing the flames at Flaming Mountain” and “removing sand from Huangfeng Ridge,” if produced using hand-drawn animation or CGI, would undoubtedly require massive budgets and timelines.
However, with AI, these “exaggerated effects” have become accessible:
This not only frees brand creativity from budget constraints but also subtly presents a stark contrast—on one side are the seemingly insurmountable grand dilemmas rendered by AI; on the other is Meituan Flash Shopping’s lightweight, instant, and almost effortless solution.
When these two elements appear in the same frame, the “lightness” and “extreme speed” conveyed by Meituan Flash Shopping’s promise of “good goods in hand within 30 minutes” are further amplified.
Mythology Chapter: Everything is Accessible, Easily Breaking Physical and Spatial-Temporal Limits
In the second video, the focus shifts to another aspect of instant retail—the diversity of good products.
As per our usual format, let’s look first and then analyze:
Video link: https://v.douyin.com/QZC-1LsKgzg/
If the keyword for the Journey to the West chapter is “speed,” then the first impression of the Mythology chapter leans more toward “richness.”
This change stems primarily from adjustments in narrative structure.
The Journey to the West chapter is driven by a single story throughout, making its pace naturally controllable and easier to accelerate. The Mythology chapter, however, stitches together several stories, allowing this “breadth” to better reflect differentiated needs across various scenarios.
Ultimately, whether it is Hou Yi shooting down the sun, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian’s paper umbrella romance, or Nuwa creating humans, although the characters, situations, and problems change, the method of resolution remains highly consistent:
Whenever a need arises, “Meituan Flash Shopping,” dispatched by the Jade Emperor, suddenly appears and quickly fulfills its role.
This uniform handling continuously sends the same signal to the audience:
Needs are diverse, but supply is stable.
The greatest challenge in achieving this goal lies in how AI handles the integration of modern products like sunscreen, parasols, and modeling clay with ancient settings, as any element appearing out of place could easily break immersion.
Judging from the final result, this video resolves this issue through two main approaches.
First, it does not pre-establish rationality. The Mythology chapter deliberately downplays explanations for “why these items appear.” In the video, the coexistence of modern products and ancient myths is treated as a default premise rather than something that needs to be proven.
This technique, akin to setting world rules, allows audiences to accept this cross-temporal fusion more quickly.
Second, transitions are handled with greater subtlety. For example, the transition from Hou Yi shooting down the sun to the West Lake scene utilizes “rain” as a common element; the shift from Bai Suzhen to Nuwa is connected through “hand movements,” complemented by rhythm-matched music, making the scene changes appear smoother.
In any case, through this strategy of “setting first, smooth transitions,” the Mythology chapter not only showcases Meituan Flash Shopping’s diversity in non-food categories such as digital products, beauty items, and daily necessities but also subtly helps audiences build a more abstract cognition:
What instant retail provides is not just specific types of goods, but a supply capability that has erased spatial and temporal limitations.
The role played by AI here extends beyond generating these visually breaking-of-physical-limits fusion scenes; it also implants the psychological suggestion that “everything is accessible” through visual repetition and reinforcement.
At this point, the logic behind the two videos becomes clear:
They use AI-generated “surreal” scenarios as a shell to wrap around Meituan Flash Shopping’s two extremely fundamental value cores: “speed” and “variety.”
By the criteria set at the beginning, they have achieved the first point. As for how effective the second is, that depends on your feelings after watching.
Hidden Meanings Behind the Videos
Beyond the videos themselves, Meituan Flash Shopping’s campaign this time holds greater value and significance, which can be summarized in one sentence:
It signifies a shift in the role AI plays in marketing.
For most of the past and present, many people’s use of AI for marketing has remained at a rather rudimentary and rough stage.
The common approaches involve asking whether AI can generate marketing posters or turn those posters into dynamic videos…
In this phase, AI acts more as an efficiency tool (like a faster brush or editing software), satisfying users’ desires to try new things and speed up processes, but rarely intervening in the content structure itself.
However, now, in Meituan Flash Shopping’s practice, AI begins to take on a role that is increasingly leaning toward…
The Role of Content Infrastructure
It does more than just generate visuals; it supports a complete narrative structure, ensuring that the brand’s core message is communicated clearly.
Once AI begins to participate in the narrative structure itself, the changes extend beyond mere “production efficiency.”
It directly impacts a more fundamental question: What kind of creativity do we actually want technology to achieve?
This marks the starting point for shifts in creative production models.
To be honest, the marketing field is not short on good ideas; rather, their realization is often constrained by cost and technology.
Take grand, fantastical concepts like “mythological figures using modern products.” If produced using traditional hand-drawn animation combined with special effects, the human and material resources required would be incalculable.
(PS: This reminds me of literary director Bi Gan, who recently appeared on Luo Yonghao’s podcast. During the show, he revealed that a 15-minute fantastical commercial he directed once took him several months to complete, highlighting the high costs and difficulties associated with traditional production methods.)
Now, however, AI has significantly lowered the barrier to realizing creative concepts.
There is no need for physical sets or expensive post-production; AI can directly generate these visually stunning, fantasy-filled scenes.
This gives many ideas that previously existed only in scripts their first opportunity to be validated at low cost and iterated repeatedly.
In other words, AI is returning marketing power from “budget” back to the “idea” itself.
More importantly, judging by the final output, AI has not “upstaged” or distracted the audience; instead, it serves the brand’s marketing creativity.
This can be seen in audience feedback: discussions have focused more on the “Meituan Instashopping” brand itself rather than “the relationship between this video and AI.”
At this point, technology has quietly retreated into the background, while brand value and user perception have been brought to the forefront.
So, the question arises:
Why did Meituan Instashopping dare to embrace AI first and successfully navigate this AIGC marketing path from “technology application” to “brand value expression”?
The answer lies within the premise itself.
Why Meituan Instashopping?
Essentially, this is determined by the nature of Meituan Instashopping’s business.
As a familiar presence in daily life, Meituan Instashopping is Meituan’s instant retail platform. Its official introduction reads:
Relying on instant delivery capabilities, Meituan Instashopping connects local retail supply to meet consumers’ immediate needs for “everything delivered within 30 minutes.” The brand slogan is “Instashop once, get good goods in hand within 30 minutes.”
Opening the mini-program application interface looks something like this:
As you can see, its service categories cover supermarkets and convenience stores, fresh ingredients, fruits, flowers and plants, snacks, and more. Its advantage can be summarized in one sentence:
Broader than food delivery, faster than traditional retail.
On one hand, it leverages an instant delivery system (with millions of active riders daily) to guarantee “good goods delivered within 30 minutes.”
On the other hand, it covers a wider range of consumption scenarios including digital products, cosmetics, daily necessities, and emergency supplies (food categories belong to Meituan Waimai).
This means that Meituan Instashopping naturally faces high-frequency, fragmented, and highly immediate demands. This business attribute resonates fundamentally with the “instant generation” and “infinite creativity” of AIGC.
First, resonance in efficiency.
The “immediacy” inherent in AI-generated content aligns closely with the “immediacy (30-minute delivery)” emphasized by Meituan Instashopping’s business model.
This is particularly evident in the Journey to the West series. Beyond the fact that AI can generate content quickly, the plot design vividly conveyed this sense of immediacy.
Second, resonance in expressive boundaries.
Physical filming is limited by budget, timelines, and physical laws, whereas the computational advantages of AI generation naturally fit Meituan Instashopping’s characteristic of “having everything.”
In the mythological series, AI can match diverse needs by generating different scenes and the corresponding products required. This echoes Meituan Instashopping’s real-world advantage of product diversity.
In short, it is precisely because Meituan Instashopping’s business core and AIGC’s generation logic have formed a high degree of synergy in the dimensions of “speed” and “variety” that this tech-driven marketing campaign has moved beyond mere technical showmanship.
To put it bluntly, at its core, this is actually a model of “technology empowering business.”
At this point, some might ask (pretending to pose a question): Can’t others just replicate this case?
Not necessarily. The true value of this case for industry reference lies in the more fundamental and replicable methodology it provides:
Effective AIGC Marketing = Clear Self-Awareness + Accurate Utilization of AI Narrative Capabilities.
As stated at the beginning of this article, the biggest challenge facing current AIGC marketing is:
When “knowing how to use AI” is no longer scarce, what becomes truly scarce is knowing what to do with AI and why.
The merit of Meituan Instashopping’s marketing campaign lies in its clear answers to these two fundamental questions:
- Who am I? A brand emphasizing “speed” and
instant retail platforms with a vast selection.
- What can AI do for me? Using AI to concretize “speed” and “variety” (which AI tools can achieve this, and which cannot).
Therefore, for latecomers, the key is not to replicate the same creative ideas, but to master the same thought process: first clarify the brand’s core value, then find resonance between technology and that value.
Otherwise, if one skips the business core and starts directly from “which generative model is the coolest right now” or “how can AI beautify this product,” the resulting content will likely remain at a level that looks good and is fun to play with, but may not be memorable or effective in driving conversions.
Of course, under this methodology, Meituan Instashopping, as a player closer to users’ daily lives, indeed possesses certain marketing advantages.
The logic is simple: if you were asked to promote a SaaS product or superconducting materials using AI, explaining the concepts alone might be exhausting. But Meituan Instashopping is clearly different.
So, in a sense, while the success of the Meituan Instashopping case cannot be separated from the principle that “technology serves creativity,” what matters even more is the latter half:
Creativity serves users.
Here, whether it is technology or creativity, both are ultimately just means to serve users.
The daily “urgent moments” precisely restored by AI in the video—from umbrellas needed urgently during a rainstorm to ingredients suddenly short on hand—prove that “getting good goods within 30 minutes” is never an empty marketing slogan, but a value promise that users can truly perceive.
It resonates because it hits upon the most real anxieties of modern life: when plans are disrupted and needs arise suddenly, what users need is not just “speed,” but a reliability they can count on at any time.
And in this fast-paced era full of variables, such certainty itself is a very scarce emotional value.
Therefore, Meituan Instashopping’s choice to use cutting-edge AI as its outward expression does not aim to convey technology itself, but rather those unpretentious yet highly relevant service values—speed and variety.
And when cold algorithms begin to respond to users’ real needs, technology truly gains warmth.