Panda-Man is one of the most popular cartoon figures used as a base layer for Chinese expression emojis (biaoqingbao).
Background
The Panda is the mascot for the Egyptian food company Arab Dairy’s Panda Cheese brand, appearing in a 2010 series of commercials for the brand, referred to as the “Never Say No to Panda” series. It is a giant panda that, after hearing of people not wanting Panda Cheese, violently stalks and threatens them until they buy its product.
The in each of the ten commercials produced for the series, a person is offered Panda Cheese, but declines it for whatever reason, not being able to afford it, not liking it, or making something with no cheese. However, after they decline, the panda suddenly appears before them, accompanied by the song “True Love Ways” by Buddy Holly & The Picks. The panda will then have a violent outburst, such as knocking over and destroying items, ruining the meal they are making, and, on one commercial, even disconnects a hospital patient’s morphine. It will then stand staring at the person until they eat the cheese or the commercial ends.
Spread
Figures are the characters in Biaoqing, are classified into three categories. The first category are stick figures or cartoons superimposed with real-person facial expressions, the second are figures with distinctive personalities, and the third are figures of sociocultural significance. In such the Panda-Man Biaoqing, facial expressions and texts are the most salient elements.
Examples
